You're Beautiful
by jackthepumpkin777
Summary: Hinamori Amuto suddenly suffers from an injury just before joining the hottest boy band in Japan, so his twin sister, Amu, is asked to take his place. Amu has to live with three hot guys for 2 months, who all think she's a guy. AMUTO
1. Amu and Amuto

**_You're Beautiful_**

**A/N: Hey guys, so I was asked to write a story similar to the Korean drama "You're Beautiful" so, here it is!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own.**

**Chapter 1: Amu and Amuto**

Ever since being raised by nuns in an orphanage, Hinamori Amu knew her future was set to be in the church. But God had something else planned for her. Something she'd never imagine or even think would happen to somebody like herself.

It all started one fateful day in the middle of a church service Amu was attending. Nothing was out of the ordinary on this day. She was late - as usual - to the service, and interrupted a hymn when she ran into the room.

Ashamed to admit it, Amu was almost always late for church. Why? Who knows. Maybe it was due to the fact that before the service she always made sure that all of the statues on the church grounds were polished and looking beautiful.

_Click._

Or maybe it was because -

_Click._

What the…

_Click._

The pink-haired girl's ear was nearly twitching as the clicking sound rang through her head. Glancing to her side, she found the culprit sitting across the aisle from her: A little girl in a brown dress, playing with her mp3 player.

Amu guessed that the button the girl was pressing was what raised the volume, since she could now hear the muffled singing. Of course it was distracting, but no one else seemed to notice. They were the lucky ones who were too old to hear the little things.

Trying to remain quiet, Amu managed to get the girls attention, and gestured for her to turn the volume down.

The blonde little girl simply smiled sweetly at Amu, then made it obvious that instead of turning the music down, she raised the volume. It was loud enough for Amu to detect that it was a guy singing.

Yet, no one had noticed; But it still made Amu annoyed. A little runt who listened to some boy band during a church service and ignored what someone older than her was saying, must be trouble.

"Excuse me?" Amu whispered, loud enough for the blonde to hear, "Can you please turn that off?".

The girl's blue eyes stared at Amu with a mocking expression, exaggerating her hand motions as she continued to raise the volume.

Amu was beginning to regret ever saying anything to the girl. At least before, all she'd have to endure was the clicking noise. But now, it was the full song.

_-You drove me crazy every time we touched. Now I'm so broken that I can't get up. Oh, girl you make-_

Amu rolled across the aisle, secret agent style, and sat next to the girl, still trying to remain calm. "Could you at least turn it down, please?". She hoped it didn't sound like she was begging this seven year old girl slowly shook her head.

_- I love you forever, forever is over. We used to kiss all night, now it's just -_

Teeth clenched, Amu quickly snatched the music player, but the girl grabbed it back just as fast. It then resulted in a game of silent tug-of-war.

Nobody won.

Instead, the earphones ended up getting unplugged, and the music player went flying, the sound on full blast, booming out of it's tiny speakers.

_- I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hung-over. I love you forever, but now I'm sober. I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hung over -_

Well, let's just say _that_ was capable of getting everyone's attention, and made them cover their ears as they all cringed at the noise.  
Flinging herself into the aisle, Amu hunted the music player down as everyone stood up from their seats.

_- I love you forever… But now I'm sober. -_

She crouched down on her knees, crawling around the hard, cold floor. It shouldn't have been hard trying to find it. It was louder than anything else in the room.

Finally, Amu wrapped her fingers around the small - but powerful - electronic device, standing up and wiping the dust off of her jeans.

She glanced down at the video playing on the mp3 player, seeing a blue-haired boy who was the main singer, a blonde prince-like guy playing guitar in the background, and a brunette on drums.

It was at that moment when she realized everyone was staring at her, the little girl was smiling evilly at her, and it looked as if Amu was the one listening to music during the service. Hence the shameful looks from the elders.

One of the nuns just chuckled as she shook her head, knowing Amu far too much as the clumsy eighteen year old.

Amu felt her cheeks heat up before she buried her face in her hands, crouching on the ground in embarrassment. Constantly she got into these situations. Maybe it was about time that she learnt her lesson.

* * *

"Well… that was an interesting service, Amu-chan" Sakura commented as she walked out of the chapel with Amu at her side, who was walking with her head down.

"How will I ever become a nun if I continue to get myself into these situations?" Amu complained as she raked a hand through her shoulder-length pink hair.

Sakura - an elderly nun - just smiled softly, giving Amu a reassuring pat on the back. "You'll be fine. It's inside that counts, not the embarrassing moments in life".

Amu just blushed once more out of complete humiliation as a groan escaped her lips.

"Oh my… it looks like that man is lost" Sakura laughed, nodding towards a man looking around quickly, holding a piece of paper in his hand. "Could you go help him?". Amu nodded, slipping on her sweater and walking over to the man as Sakura went back inside the church.

"Hey, are you los-"

"A striking resemblance" the man whispered barely audible.

Amu's eyebrows slanted forward as the man lifted the piece of paper in his hands closer to Amu's face.

He took off his sunglasses, looking from the paper and back to Amu. Noticing her startled expression, the air-headed man laughed, scratching the back of his head.  
"A nun of all things?" he questioned.

Amu guessed he was still talking to himself, seeing as how he wasn't making sense to _her_.

"Okay… you're not lost" The pink-haired girl said quietly to the crazed man, slowly starting to walk back to the church.

"Wait, wait!" the man called desperately, running after her.

"Do you know Hinamori Amuto?". (A/N: XD I couldn't resist!. It'll make sense later, though)

This made Amu stop in her tracks and glance over her shoulder at the brunette man. "Wh-why?".

He smiled, showing her the paper in his hands, which turned out to be a picture. Not of just anything or anyone, it was of Amuto, Amu's twin brother.

"How did you get this?" Amu asked, gently taking the picture out of his grasp, completely awestruck at how her brother looked. He had recently become a famous singer, and was already looking worn out judging by the picture.

When they were younger, barely anyone could tell them apart. Until Amu's hair grew out. But, that's what everyone relied on in order to see the difference. However, over the years, Amuto's eyes got slightly darker than Amu's, as well as his hair.

"You must be, Amu, right?" the man asked.

Amu simply nodded, still transfixed by the photo.

"I'm Nikaidou, Amuto's manager" Nikaidou greeted with a small bow. "The both of us… uh… need your help". He shifted his weight from one foot to another, waiting impatiently for the girl to say something.

Amu glanced up from the picture, not liking the tone of his voice. He sounded uncomfortable and unsure. "…With what, exactly?".

The atmosphere suddenly became even more uncomfortable between the two of them. Crunchy auburn leaves swirled in the wind, blowing past them as moments of silence passed.

Seeing Amu shiver suddenly made Nikaidou snap back into focus. "Well, uh… we have a problem…".

"If you need money, you're asking the wrong pers-"

"No, no. It's not like that" Nikaidou laughed. "We… had an accident. Um… and I need you to help him out".

Amu was beginning to wonder if he had hearing problems, since she had already asked what it was that he needed help with. But, nonetheless, decided to repeat herself.

"With what?".

"Y-you need to pretend to be him. Just for a few hours!" Nikaidou added in the last part quickly once seeing Amu's expression.

"Are you crazy?" She asked, mortified. First of all, she couldn't pretend to be her brother, that'd be lying to many people. The second reason why she wouldn't be able to do this, is 'cause she didn't know how to act like a guy. The third reason? She looked like a girl. Hmm… maybe that's because she_ is _a girl!

"I-I'm a girl!" she said, trying to make it clear to him.

"It's completely fine! I can handle that" Nikaidou reassured, calming Amu down slightly. "Please do this for your brother…".

Amu opened her mouth to protest, but closed it once more.

She couldn't lie to so many people, or perform on a stage, or do anything celebrity-like, for that matter!

"All you'd have to do is sign a few papers" Nikaidou added hopefully.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this…" Amu muttered, pulling at her way too baggy jeans.

She had always hated it when she saw guys walking down the streets with their pants below their knees. Really, couldn't they at least get a piece of string, or something to hold them up around the waist? Now, she found herself feeling like a hypocrite. She was looking like one of those guys.

"Thank you, so, so much!" Nikaidou repeated for the umpteenth time in the past hour, bowing his head continuously as they walked through the large recording building.

Amu shifted her short-haired wig, trying to resist the urge to take it off and scratch her head. Though, she did find it pretty surprising that people actually sold pink wigs.

"So, I'll explain everything to you quickly" Nikaidou announced, opening a door for Amu that led down yet another hallway. "Amuto is in the United States, but he was chosen to join the boy band, A.N. Jell. Since he's not coming back for another 2-3 months, he wouldn't be able to sign the papers, agreeing to join the band. So, that's where you come in".

Amu nodded slowly, following Nikaidou down a few more hallways. "What's… A.N. Jell?" she asked. The look Nikaidou gave her made her feel like an idiot.

"You don't know them?"

"Eh… no"

"Hokey man…" Nikaidou scratched his head, chuckling to himself. "They're a popular band here in Japan. That pretty much sums it up".

"Oh, and all these pictures on the walls are of the members. This is their recording studio" He added, gesturing to the photographs on the walls.

Amu immediately recognized the blue-haired teen as the main singer in that video the little girl in church was watching. "So… I guess they are pretty popular if a seven year old girl even knows about them…" she muttered to herself before quickly catching up with Nikaidou.

"Ah, Nikaidou! Did you bring him?" a friendly looking blonde adult asked. Nikaidou stepped aside, revealing Amu, who was feeling rather uncomfortable at the moment.

This was an office? It didn't look like one. The offices she was used to, were small rooms with a desk and computer. This place could be bigger than seven of those tiny offices combined. A lot bigger than that.

A huge donut shaped table was in the middle of the room, with dozens of seats around it, accompanied by binders, laptops and papers. And hanging off the ceiling were TVs, that way wherever you were in the room, you could watch the news at any angle.

"Amuto-san! It's great to meet you!" The blonde, Tsukasa, greeted as he bowed quickly.

Amu quickly thought back to her discussion with Nikaidou earlier on their way over here, backtracking to remember the name of this blonde guy.

"S-same here, Tsukasa-san" Amu replied with a smile.

"Ah, you're adorable! A perfect addition to our collection" Tsukasa commented, nudging Nikaidou in the side.

"Yes, Amuto has agreed to the terms, and is willing to sign papers, joining A.N. Jell" Nikaidou replied to Tsukasa's nudging.

Amu then found herself being pulled over to a table, where a form sat in front of her. She had to keep reminding herself to not act too girly, since Nikaidou is the only one that knew their little secret. But, she couldn't help the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. Even if she was just signing a few papers, everything was happening all too fast for someone as slow-minded as herself.

_Act like a guy. Act like a guy, and you'll be fine._

"And, the other signing!" Tsukasa announced, slipping the last paper in front of Amu.

Just as Amu placed the tip of the pen on the paper, the doors of the office swung open, and in walked that blue-haired teen from A.N. Jell.

"Ah! I-Ikuto, what's wrong?" Tsukasa questioned, startled by his sudden appearance.

The boy who's name was apparently 'Ikuto' simply turned away from Tsukasa, and saw Amu sitting there.

His blue eyes looked resigned and mocking.

He crossed his arms over his chest, bending the upper half of his body as he continued to watch Amu, getting a better look at her. Of course since she was a girl, she felt uncomfortable under his stare. Not to mention, it didn't take much for her to see that he wasn't exactly the ugliest thing in the world, either.

"So, you're the one who has the voice of an angel?" Ikuto asked, his husky voice sending shivers up Amu's spine. Not in a bad way, though. Wait. What?

Amu quickly diverted her thoughts to something else, remaining quiet and eyes downcast.

Ikuto stood back up, straightening his posture. "I'll be the judge of that" he stated before instantly holding onto Amu's arm, pulling her out of the room, followed by a panicking Nikaidou.

"Ikuto! Let go of him!" He exclaimed, chasing after them.

Ikuto locked the door of the recording booth behind him, ignoring the yells from Nikaidou.

"Are you Amuto?" A brunette guy asked, standing up from out of his seat behind the drum set.

"Yeah…" Amu replied slowly, making sure her voice was slightly deeper than usual.

"I'm Kukai" the brunette introduced before walking up to Amu, inspecting her. "Dude, you're so short!" he laughed before pulling her into a chokehold.

"Souma, you don't want to scare the boy" Tadase, the prince-like blonde, warned with a gentle smile. He helped Amu out of Kukai's strong hold, introducing himself to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hinamori-san. I'm Hotori Tadase". Smile, smile, smile. Amu desperately wanted to ask if he ever stopped smiling. He seemed too carefree.

"…Oh, and that lump of coal over there is Ikuto" Kukai added with a grin as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at Ikuto, who just rolled his indigo eyes.

Ikuto then got out a sheet of paper, setting it on a music stand in front of Amu. "You have to prove that you're good enough to be in this band. I'll be the judge of deciding that".

Amu's wide honey-coloured eyes just watched the page, hoping it'd disappear. Her _sing_? She couldn't remember the last time she had sung on her own. Of course in church you'd sing with everyone, or just with the choir people. But, never a solo.

Ikuto watched her closely, digging his hands deep into his pockets as he nodded at the paper.

"Sing".

_God, please help me._

* * *

_**Any mistakes? Please let me know! :)**_


	2. AN Jell

** You're Beautiful**

**Chapter 2: A.N. Jell**

**  
**Nikaidou took a seat next to Amu, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm amazed at how alike you and your brother are" he commented. "Not just in looks, but also in your voice".

Amu nodded silently in response as she watched him take a long gulp of his coffee.

She was still waiting for him to take her back to the church. But instead of praying in the chapel or rehearsing with the choir, she found herself sitting in the garden just outside the recording studio, which was the last place she wanted to be at the moment.

"Um... Nikaidou-sempai, thank you for this opportunity, and all - "

"Oh, please just call me Nikaidou." Nikaidou requested with a polite, yet goofy smile before he enjoyed another drink from his coffee.

"O-okay..." Amu replied hesitant. That'd take some getting used to. All her life she was taught to respect her elders and use honorifics, but now she was told the opposite? Celebrity life made no sense these days.

"Could you take me home, now? I mean, I've done all the signing of papers and officially got my brother into the band, and that's all I needed to do, right?" the pinkette asked hopefully.

This sudden statement made Nikaidou nearly choke on his drink.

The outburst of the hot coffee being spat out, followed by the coughing fit, made Amu change her mind about her work being finished. Clearly it wasn't. She just didn't know the other half of the deal that she had gotten herself into.

"No, you can't leave yet!" Nikaidou exclaimed, making Amu flinch.

"But, I already signed the papers. I even did extra work. Why can't I go?" the pink-haired girl asked, knowing for sure that Nikaidou hadn't mentioned her having to do anything else other than that.

So, without another word, she stood up, bidding him farewell, and began walking away.

But, she only took two steps before Nikaidou stopped her.

"Could you please pretend to be him for a little longer?" he begged, literally getting down on his knees and holding his hands together. "Amuto's in the States about to get surgery... he'll be returning in around... t-two or three months".

"Two or three months!? I can't stay that long!" Amu replied instantly, walking away faster as Nikaidou continued to follow her. "And there's no way I can pretend to be a boy for that long! I barely survived through today!".

It was just then that something caught her attention. "Wait. Did you say he was going to get surgery?" Amu asked, stopping in her place.

Nikaidou sighed deeply, removing his glasses so he could rub his tired eyes. Clearly he had been stressing over this for quite some time before he had found Amu, who could at least help him out with this whole ordeal.

Of course it made Amu feel guilty, but she had a life to get back to. She figured he could at least tell everyone the truth and they'd all understand. Why wouldn't they?

"He can't close his eyes!" Nikaidou wailed.

To say that the silence was weird between them, would be an understatement. It was very weird. Can't close his eyes? Shouldn't it have been the other way around?

"Can't... _close _them?" Amu asked slowly to make sure she had heard right.

Nikaidou merely nodded. "He got a small plastic surgery to get rid of the barely noticeable wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. The doctor must've been new, because he completely screwed up, and now Amuto can't even close his eyes! It's all my fault". The man groaned and crouched on the ground in fetal position, making Amu almost change her mind.

Almost.

"I'm sorry... b-but I can't help you..." She said slowly, then with one look at the poor man, she hurried away in fear that he'd chain her up and throw her back into the recording studio with the three males she had to sing in front of earlier.

She was amazed that they liked her singing. She was even more amazed at herself for being able to sound more like a guy even when she sang. That took skills. Or, she'd like to believe that it did. It made her feel good.

Though, Amu was terrified when the last note ended and everything was silent. Immediately she began panicking in her mind, thinking they had found her out.

When she looked at the boys' expressions for any clues, she noticed that Hotori and Souma were both looking at Tsukiyomi. It made her realize that he was the boss of everything, and the only thing that mattered was his opinion.

He just had a blank expression, which didn't help anyone know what he was thinking.

But then he walked over to Amu, took the sheet of music back, then shrugged.

Amu immediately thought she had failed, but her mind changed when Kukai and Tadase started cheering and patting Amu on the back.

Finally a taxi came screeching to a halt in front of Amu, and she quickly jumped in before Nikaidou could catch up to her. It then began driving down the busy Tokyo streets, passing many buildings that Amu had never seen before.

It was refreshing to get a look of the city around her. With all the billboards, towering skyscrapers and many pedestrians.

Though, it didn't matter how many interesting things she saw, Amu still couldn't shake off the lingering feeling of guilt that seemed to cling tightly onto her.

Really, it couldn't be that hard to continue pretending to be a boy for longer. It wasn't as if it was for years, and plus she'd have Nikaidou-san there to help her. Not hard at all.

Amu's eyebrows slanted downwards as she pondered these thoughts, her mouth forming into a thin line. Maybe it was all part of God's plan that Amuto had to be replaced by her. Perhaps something good would come out of it in the end.

That's what made up her mind.

"Excuse me, please turn around and take me back!" She said loudly to the driver, who jumped at the sudden noise.

The large, balding man stepped on the brake, then accelerated quickly as he spun the vehicle around, nearly giving Amu whiplash.

She was suddenly very determined as she looked straight ahead at the recording studio coming into view. From this day on, she'd be Hinamori Amuto. A male teenager.

* * *

"So, is the noob moving in with us tomorrow?" Kukai asked, referring to the pink-haired teen he had met just earlier. He had personally taken a liking to the strange short guy. Amuto had a certain innocent look to him, which made Kukai just want to pinch is cheeks and start talking to him like he was a baby.

"That's what I've heard. Nikaidou should be introducing him at the press conference right now" Tadase replied as he dropped a spoon into his cup of tea, gently stirring it through the hot liquid.

"Ah, the press conference we _would_ be going to, if _somebody _wasn't just wanting to sleep all day!" Kukai said loudly so Ikuto might hear.

But he doubted that Ikuto was even paying attention. Whenever he was listening to music, he was in his own little bubble - which was soundproof, I will add. Even though he was sitting on the couch just across from Kukai, it was as if he had temporary deafness.

"Hey, leave him alone" Tadase chuckled, hopping down the few steps leading down to the living room. "He doesn't like being in public".

"He doesn't like _anything_. Or anyone, for that matter" Kukai muttered under his breath.

Ikuto then sent a glare in Kukai's direction as he stood up from the couch, towering over the terrified blond and brunette sitting opposite of him. "I'm going to get coffee" he suddenly stated, hands finding their way into his pockets as he roamed his way out of the building.

Once they heard Ikuto's footsteps start fading, Kukai and Tadase exhaled in relief. Sure, Ikuto was one to keep to himself, but he could be quite frightening when he wanted to be.

"I never know what gets past him and what doesn't..." Tadase commented quietly before taking a cautious sip of his hot tea, still eying the door in fear that Ikuto had been eavesdropping and decided to charge back into the room and pummel him.

Kukai just nodded in response, lazily grabbing the remote control and flipping through channels, feet propped up on the coffee table.

"Hey, so what'd you think of that Hinamori guy?" he asked after a few minutes of the TV blaring.

Tadase set his tea down on the coffee table as he tried to recall what the boy was like. Amuto seemed careful of his surroundings, and uncomfortable. But perhaps that was just the first day nerves. "Other than him acting strange, he seemed fine".

Surprisingly the front door suddenly swung open, and in walked Nikaidou, with Amu shyly following close behind.

"Hey, you two are wanted at the conference" Nikaidou announced as he placed one of Amu's suitcases on the couch across from Tadase and Kukai, who's moods were suddenly raised instantly.

"Score!" Kukai cheered, pumping his fist in the air as he jumped off the couch. "Yo, Hinamori. See you later" he grinned widely as he ruffled Amu's short hair on his way out the door with Tadase.

Nikaidou quickly catapulted himself at the door, locking it as soon as the two teens were out of sight. "Alright, remove the wig and go cut your hair in the washroom. Leave no evidence behind".

Amu nodded, suddenly feeling like a secret agent on a mission. She grabbed one of her bags and hurried into the washroom, closing the door securely behind her.

Thankfully, Nikaidou had allowed her to go back and get a few things from home, which she packed away where no one could see them. But she didn't bring any of her girl clothes. Nikaidou's partner, Yukari, had supplied her with everything she needed in order to fit in with the rest of the band. Since Yukari was the band's fashion designer, she knew exactly what was in and what was out.

Amu cut off another chunk of her hair, watching it fall into the garbage can sitting on the floor below her.

By the time she was done, she didn't think she looked that bad. Her hair didn't even look any different from the wig she was wearing, which was good.

It was shorter than Ikuto's hair, but not too short.

_knock knock._

"Amu? Something came up at the studio, and I have to go take care of it. Will you be fine here?" Nikaidou asked, his voice muffled.

"Yup, I'll be fine"

"Okay, great. My cell phone will be on if you need anything" Nikaidou reminded before he nearly sprinted out of the dorm.

Amu emptied the garbage from the garbage can into a plastic bag, tying it securely on her way out of the washroom. No evidence was left. She had the hair, which would be disposed of in the dumpster just outside the building, and that's what mattered most right now.

It was just after throwing the hair in the dumpster when Amu realized something. The dorm was huge. Too big for just four people to be living in.

The kitchen was spacious, with a large fridge and plenty of counter space. Even all the washrooms had extra room in them.

"Whoever decorated this place should get an award." she whispered to herself, gaping at the colorful lights strung around the walls in the living room, accompanied by an aquarium just below.

She then noticed a winding staircase, which she climbed up eagerly, excited to see what else there was in this dorm room.

The first room Amu stepped into, had black and white tiled floors, a large black desk in the middle of the room with mountains of paper on it, accompanied by a wicked awesome lamp.

Bookshelves lined the dark walls, and there was a raise in the floor, where the four steps led up to a king size bed that sat beside another door.

Amu couldn't help but to walk further into the room to admire it some more. She took a closer look at the lamp resting on the desk, readjusting it and finding it rather entertaining to watch it turn from side to side, then up and down.

The bookshelves also didn't hold just books, but pictures, CDs and movies as well.

Whoever owned this room had good taste in music, Amu noted.

Just then, a sneeze could be heard from outside of the room, accompanied by footsteps climbing the tall staircase. Someone was home. And whoever it was, they were heading towards the room Amu was in.

Instinctively she started to panic. She didn't mean to be snooping around a room that wasn't hers, she was just touring the house. But, that wouldn't be a very convincing story to tell whoever it was that was about to find her.

So, Amu quickly sprinted across the room, through the door beside the king-size bed and closed the door quietly behind her.

Once turning around she found herself in another washroom.

Amazingly all the guys that lived here were neat. Even their washrooms barely had dust on anything.

The pinkette was as silent as she could be as she pressed her ear against the door, waiting for whoever was there to leave. The person closed the bedroom door behind him before walking further into the room.

When Amu figured it was safe, she cracked open the door, scanning the room quickly.

Of course, it was Ikuto.

The worst person to be caught by. So, this must be his room.

His back was towards her as he sat at his desk, writing quickly across a sheet of paper, with a cup of coffee beside him.

He suddenly stopped writing and slowly looked up at his lamp.

He furrowed his eyebrows once realizing the angle was completely off. No one was allowed in his room, and he certainly knew that he wasn't the one who had moved it around.

So, someone must've been in his room just recently, since the lamp was in the right place before he had left to get coffee.

Ikuto's eyes scanned the room thoroughly, and just before they reached the bathroom door, Amu quickly closed it silently, breathing deeply as her heart thumped loudly against her chest.

She would be doomed if he found her.

Quickly, she looked for an escape route from in the washroom. The window was way too small, and too high off the ground for her to even reach it and try to squirm out of it.

She could hide in the shower, but it had a translucent door, which meant that he'd be able to see her dark hoodie.

Just as she was standing by the toilet, the bathroom door opened, and in walked Ikuto.

* * *

**Kate: Any Mistakes? Please let me know!**


	3. First Night as An Idol

**Chapter 3: First Night as An Idol**

Without having time to think, Amu quickly sat down on the bidet toilet - leaving her pants on, of course - and looked over at Ikuto, who was just standing in the doorway watching her with slanted eyebrows.

"Ah! I'm sorry for coming in here, I-I was jus-" unknowing to her, as Amu spoke, her hand rested on a few of the buttons controlling the bidet. The result? She triggered the water spritzer, meaning a hose-like tube inside of the toilet was spraying water at her in order to clean her bottom.

She yelled as she jumped off of the toilet, continuing to be sprayed since she had nowhere to run to. To her right was a wall, and to her left was Ikuto. She'd preferably run through the wall before talking to Ikuto at the moment.

As Amu struggled with her dilemma of the bidet and trying to turn it off, Ikuto simply watched her, arms crossed and looking extremely bored.

"That goes for thirty seconds, right...?" he muttered to himself, glancing down at his rather expensive watch. Once four more seconds had passed, he looked back up at the entertaining sight in front of him, and saw the bidet finally stop praying the new kid.

So, Amu stood there in the middle of Ikuto's washroom, hair dripping and clothes drenched with water, while Ikuto didn't bother budging an inch to help out.

"I-I'm so sorry!" The pinkette exclaimed while bowing quickly, sending water droplets through the air, making Ikuto flinch and back away.

"Let me tell you the rules around here..." the blue-haired boy began, wiping any trace of water from off of his shirt. "First one: Don't touch me. Second: Don't touch my stuff, and third: Don't come in my room. Everything clear?".

Amu could just nod, completely embarrassed.

"Good..." Ikuto sighed as he took a long look around his washroom. "You should go dry off before you catch a cold" he finally said, looking back at Amu.

"Y-yes, sir!" she replied before nearly sprinting for her life out of the room.

Once making sure she was gone, Ikuto took a few cautious steps further into the bathroom, eying the bidet closely. "Come to think of it... these things are more dangerous than I thought". He then made a mental note to himself to be careful from now on when around that toilet.

It'd be quite embarrassing if the same thing happened to him.

* * *

Far too loud music bounced off the dark walls of the night club, adding to the throbbing headache Amu already had, and the multicolored strobe lights didn't exactly help.

The lights twirled around the room, once in a while shining right into Amu's eyes as she stumbled through the crowds. Everything was making her dizzy. The worst part is she hadn't even had anything to drink yet.

"Ah! Amu, come with me" Nikaidou stated, pulling Amu along with him as he hurried over to the bar. "There's someone I want you to meet".

The pink-haired teen had to bite her tongue to stop a sarcastic remark from coming out just as Nikaidou stopped beside a lady with reddish brown hair, dressed formally.

"So, you're Amu-chan? I'm the bands' stylist, Sanjo Yukari" The lady greeted, sending the most pleasant smile she could muster in Amu's direction before shaking her hand.

As Amu looked around for an escape route out of this dreadful beer-filled, smoke-swarming hell hole, she couldn't help but notice Yukari eying her chest.

"Wow... you really are flat" she suddenly commented.

"Uh... Yukari's had too many drinks. Excuse her!" Nikaidou said apologetically as he steered Yukari in the opposite direction and gave her a little push to get going.

"Wh-why does she know my secret?" Amu asked. She rubbed both of her eyes, trying to clear her vision as she waited for Nikaidou's answer.

"Don't worry, she's completely trustworthy with knowing that you're a girl and all" the ditsy man replied, handing Amu a beer bottle. "She's going to help you out with your outfits and all that stuff".

It didn't take an idiot to realize that he was then beginning to slur his words. Clearly he was drunk.

Before Amu knew what she was doing, she had already downed three beers, two glasses of wine, and her unknown alcoholic drink.

Everyone knows that if you drink a lot of liquids, you're going to have to pee. So, if you drink a lot of alcohol, you'll have to pee and up-chuck everything you had to eat that day.

Guess what situation Amu was in.

She stumbled over to a table where Kukai was, quickly tapping his shoulder as her breaths grew shallow.

"I have ta... pee... bafroom... wherezit?" she mumbled, eyes tightly closed.

Kukai eyed her cautiously as he stood up from his seat, putting both hands on Amu's shoulders. "You okay?" he asked loudly. Amu could just cringe and slur some more words together. "...Bathroom..." was all Kukai got out of it.

"It's over there, but wait here a minute. You need some ice" he warned, arms dropping to his side before he brushed past her, on a mission to get the ice.

Amu didn't even pay attention to the last thing he had said though. All she was worried about was the washroom. Thanks to Kukai, she had found it.

Well, kind of.

On the top floor of the club, she saw the washroom sign hanging on one of the doors she passed by, but seeing another sign made her forget about the washroom. She wanted to go to the roof.

Amu crashed through the roof door, almost face-planting onto the cold cement. She walked over to the wrap-around railing, not noticing that she wasn't alone on the roof.

"Aah! Nice fresh air!" she commented, raising her arms up to the starry night sky as she inhaled the cool air. She then leaned against the railing, letting her arms drape over it.

"Let's see... how far I ... c-can reach without falling" she said to herself with a proud smile as she leaned her stomach against the railing, seeing how far she could reach down on the other side.

She then stood on her tiptoes, stretching as far as she could.

A little too far.

Just before Amu fell, the other person who was on the roof with her, grabbed her collar, nearly choking her as he pulled her back.

"Are you crazy?!" He exclaimed, watching Amu try to stabilize herself by resting her hands on her knees as she bent over. "H-hey... what's wrong?" he asked, taking a step back from the person who looked and sounded like they were holding back their vomit.

"I f-feel s-sick" Amu stated weakly.

It was clear to both of them that Amu wasn't going to make it to the washroom in time. So, Ikuto quickly looked around the patio on the roof, finding a flower pot as his only option.

He removed the fake flower and held the pot out for Amu to carry in case she had to throw up. She couldn't hold it in time to take it herself, so Ikuto turned the other way, looking at the flower in his hand that wasn't holding a container full of throw up, trying not to be sick, himself.

"I feel alive" Amu giggled as she fell to the ground, staring at the sky. "Pretty stars".

"Ah, so you're both up here!" Kukai commented as he followed Tadase through the roof doors. "How are you feeling, Hinamori?".

Amu sighed in satisfaction before replying. "I feel... relieved".

Ikuto scoffed while Kukai just looked shocked. "S-so you're saying you actually did pee up here!? 'Cause I didn't see you go into the washroom!"

There was an awkward silence as everyone looked at Kukai with questioning expressions. Well, everyone except for Amu, who just continued smiling as she rocked back and forth on her heels, spinning around and walking back over to the railing.

"This could be entertaining" Kukai commented as he nudged Ikuto in the side while Amu said random things that made no sense. "Either entertaining or disastrous" was Ikuto's reply.

Once more, Amu felt the dizziness raid her head, making her balance waver. What wasn't exactly good was that she was standing on a bench, right by the railing. Meaning, if she fell forward, she'd fall off the skyscraper she was currently on.

Tadase was the first to notice this, but Ikuto got there sooner, and pulled Amu backwards.

Even though Ikuto was the one that pulled her back, he wasn't necessarily the one who she landed on. And when she'd wake up the next morning, she wouldn't only have a killer headache, but a cut on her lip that could've only happened by it hitting someone else's lip.

But the real thing that'd be going through her mind once she discovered where the cut must've come from, was how she'd find out which one of her roommates accidentally stole her first kiss.

* * *

**Please let me know if there are any mistakes. It is 10:30 a.m. over here, and i haven't slept all night, so I most likely made some mistakes. Good night!**


	4. Drinking Never Has Good Outcomes

**Hey guys! It's officially 2010! I hope you all have a wicked awesome year, and enjoy being back in school! Wakaka.**

**Chapter 4: Drinking never has good outcomes**

It was too bright. The smallest light shining through the window seemed to pound against her head, making it feel like she had just been crushed by a freight train. She could barely even talk, as though thousands of cotton balls were smashed into her mouth.

Amu groaned ever so quietly as she struggled to sit up, her head feeling as if it was full of water whenever she moved it. Glancing at her surroundings, she soon realized that she was in her room. She'd have to remember to thank whoever it was that put her there.

"My… head" The pinkette moaned weakly as she buried her face back into her fluffy pillow, inhaling the scent of laundry detergent.

Was this what everyone called a 'hangover'? Of course, being the innocent way she was, Amu had never gotten one, therefore not knowing what it was like. But, just by this occasion, she knew that she wouldn't want one ever again.

Stumbling over herself, the hung-over female managed to make it into the kitchen alive, barely being able to greet Kukai when she saw him.

"Whoa, you really _can't_ handle alcohol well!" He remarked with a small chuckle as he brought his glass of orange juice up to his mouth, biting the rim as he studied Amu.

"…Do you remember _anything _from last night?" he asked slowly to watch Amu's reaction.

Her golden eyes squinted while she cringed, rubbing her ear as if she had just got slapped there. "Don't yell, please. Of course I remember".

Kukai's eyebrows raised, placing the glass of orange juice back onto the counter. "Really, then shouldn't you go apologize?". He watched Amu's expression turn from pained, to downright confused. Just as he predicted: She had no clue what had happened.

After moments of slanted down eyebrows and pursed lips, Amu finally looked back at Kukai, seeming to understand what he meant. "Oh, for causing a disturbance? …Yeah, I should" She yawned widely, pouring herself a glass of orange juice as well.

This made the brunette stop in mid-bite of his breakfast just to look at what she would do once the drink had touched her bottom lip.

Amu immediately pushed the glass away, her hand flying up to her lip, where she felt an open wound. "Wh-how did this happen?" she panicked, pointing to her lip.

"That's what happened last night. Which is what you should be apologizing for" Kukai replied, his words barely audible through his food-stuffed mouth.

"Apologizing… f-for what, though?" Amu asked, suddenly confused as she tried to piece everything together in her slow-working mind.

"Think for a minute, Hinamori" Kukai began, downing the rest of his juice and placing the cup in the dishwasher, "How do you think you got that cut? It must've hit something, correct?". His emerald eyes were now dancing with amusement.

"Yeah…" Amu's eyes suddenly widened as her jaw dropped, sparking hope in Kukai's insides. Had she finally figured it out? "Someone punched me, didn't they!?" was her panicked answer, making Kukai nearly hit himself in the head.

"Eh… not quite. You… butted heads with someone…"

That still didn't help lower the confusion level. Amu began thinking once more while Kukai waited patiently by getting another serving of food, plopping into a seat across the table from her.

"Head-bu… wait, so, I hit someone's forehead with my lip?" she asked.

Kukai shook his head. "Lower than the forehead". Since Amu was still having trouble, he ended up giving her more hints. "It's a very important thing to girls. They'd freak out if their first – something – got stolen" he said, hoping Amu would fill in the blanks.

"First… k-kiss?!" Amu gasped. "I hit someone's lip?". She was just about to go crazy with panic attacks, but reminded herself to keep calm, since, she was a boy, after all. But, that didn't stop her mind from yelling in horror. Her first kiss was already taken! It wasn't even by someone she likes! As she thought about it, she actually had no idea who _had _stolen it.

"Wait… it wasn't you, was it?" she asked quietly, making Kukai nearly choke on his drink.

"No, thank goodness! I don't want a guy to be the first person I kiss!" he exclaimed, relieved.

"Then… w-was it Tadase-kun?"

Ikuto then walked calmly and quietly into the kitchen while the two younger band members continued their conversation. He opened the fridge door, scanning the shelves fluently, then grasping his morning water bottle.

Amu sighed, a pout forming quickly. "Please answer the question, Kuk…" her voice trailed off once Ikuto had turned around and Amu actually looked at him.

He _also_ had a small wound on his lip.

That meant…

The pinkette's eyes widened as she swiveled around in her chair, hand over her mouth, not wanting to make eye-contact with Ikuto.

So, she had somehow bumped lips with Ikuto. She figured it was probably when she fell on him last night on the rooftop.

The sudden thought made a small squeak escape her lips as she cowered away in her seat, not daring to look behind her. Without a doubt, Tsukiyomi was terrifying. The kind of person who everyone admired for being so calm and collected, but once being glared at by him, anyone would shrink away.

Since he still thought she was a boy, who knows what kind of emotions he'd be going through at this moment.

Amu just wanted to shrink, small enough so no one would be able to see her, and hide in a dark corner while feeling sorry for herself. She was doomed. It was bad enough that Ikuto already didn't exactly like her.

Feeling a sudden burst of courage, Amu glanced over her shoulder at Ikuto. His back was towards her, but the angry set of his shoulders convinced her that now wouldn't exactly be the best time to ask for forgiveness.

"I'm going to get a coffee" Ikuto said in a lazy voice as he slipped on his jacket, quickly exiting the room before Kukai could say anything. The brunette sighed deeply, sinking into the couch.

Amu couldn't hold in her curiosity anymore. "Wh-why is he so distant from everyone else?".

Kukai cracked open one eye to look at her, then shrugged. "He's had a rough past… I have to admit that I'm glad he didn't turn out any worse than he could've...". He then grinned at Amu as he gave her a thumbs up. "But, once you get to know him, he's not that bad".

Seeing a grin like that had to make Amu smile back.

"Well, I'm going to go see what lazy Tadase is doing… I should wake him up" the brunette announced, pulling himself off of the couch and crawling up the winding staircase.

Now, Amu had nothing to do.

Then again… Her gaze wandered up the stairs, Ikuto's door in sight. She could at least do something nice for him, right? Maybe clean his room.

She nodded at her genius plan, skipping up the stairs and gingerly twisting the cold doorknob, slowly pushing the door open.

It was spotless, again. Except for the CD's on the shelf.

"Yay, work for me to do" Amu whispered to herself, sneaking into the room and enjoying her moment as a secret agent.

What caught her attention while doing the random act of kindness, was that most of the CD's Ikuto had, were just of one singer. Souko. Weird that she didn't have a last name.

"Amuto!"

The sudden voice made Amu nearly drop the current CD in her hands, quickly looking over her shoulder to see who it was.

"Nikaidou-san! You scared me" she complained, putting the CD on the shelf and turning fully towards the older man.

"What happened to your li- never mind, you have to come with me" Nikaidou stated, taking Amu's arm and hurrying out of the room with her.

"Wh-what is it now?"

"Well… Tsukasa – you remember Tsukasa, right? The blonde man you met on your first day here? Anyway, since he's the director and all, he makes up the bands' schedule. And right now, you have to be at the dance studio" Nikaidou explained, closing the door behind him after they had stepped out into the warm sunlight.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Amu groaned, rubbing her temples.

Nikaidou laughed – a forced one, Amu noted – as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "I-I forgot to tell you sooner…?"

"Typical…" Amu muttered under her breath.

"Nonetheless, we must g-"

"Hinamori Amuto?". A new voice entered the conversation, cutting Nikaidou off and making both of their heads turn to see who it was.

A young man with light purple hair and blue eyes was standing on the bottom step of the stairs leading up to the landing where Amu and Nikaidou were. His face was proud.

"I will get to the bottom of this, and my photographs will be displayed throughout the world!" he cheered, hands on his hips as he struck a dramatic pose, the camera dangling around his neck bounced around with every move he made.

Nikaidou and Amu just glanced at each other.

"Who are… you?" Nikaidou asked slowly. Instantly, the guy stopped his maniac laughing and turned rather serious looking, placing a finger on his chin as he appeared to be studying Amu.

"I am reporter Kiseki, and let me tell you... I am on to you!" Kiseki exclaimed, shoving a finger in Amu's direction. This movement made both Nikaidou and the pinkette turn cold in fear. He couldn't possibly already know she was a girl.

Kiseki then slowly made his way up the stairs, circling around Amu like a vulture. "I couldn't help but notice at last night's party… a few _interesting_ things going on with you and Tsukiyomi-san" he began, trying to sound like a business-man. "Like? Oh, I don't know, like you being carried by Hotori-san to your van, and Tsukiyomi-san having a bleeding lip as he followed behind with Souma-san – who looked fine, as well as Hotori. It was just you two that were injured. What do you have to say about that?".

Amu sighed quietly in relief, but remained clueless. "What am I _suppose_ to say?"

"A-ha, I knew it! You and Tsukiyomi got into a fist-fight! Well, hey, it makes sense seeing that you and him were the only ones injured" Kiseki stated proudly, doing his triumphant pose once again with his fist in the air.

"Wh-what? No, we didn't fight at al-"

"Oh, don't worry" Kiseki soothed as he walked back down the stairs. "I've seen enough to know the truth".

His maniac cackles could still be heard as he ran down the street like a mad man.

"That was… interesting" was all Amu managed to say.

_** oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

As the event-packed days passed, word had gotten out about Amu and Ikuto's 'bloody fight' that almost ended with Amu in the hospital. She could only guess who was in charge of creating _that _rumor.

The A.N Jell fans had even turned against Amu, thinking she started the fight by disrupting Ikuto somehow.

To make matters worse, Nikaidou had been forcing Amu to take dance classes for an upcoming music video. She couldn't dance for her life, and she had proved that the first day in class. But, after four days of three hour dance classes, she wasn't half bad. Not half good either, though.

"Yes, I saw all the articles about Amuto" Ikuto replied, tightening the cap on his water bottle while watching his manager shift around the webcam he was sitting in front of.

"Couldn't you somehow… say that they're not true?" Tsukasa nearly begged. They both knew it would be easier for Ikuto to cave in if they weren't talking over webcams, which was exactly why Ikuto refused to see his manager in person.

"Hm… let's think about that, shall we?" Ikuto questioned with a smirk. "The fans hate him, and every single article about him is always something bad for his image. Now, why would I want to get rid of all that, when Amuto's so close to being kicked out of the band?"

Tsukasa scoffed. "Come on! What on earth did he do that made you hate him so much?"

Ikuto preferred to not answer that. His Bidet and the healing cut on his lip told the stories for themselves.

"Are you_ trying_ to add fire to this scandal? It's bad for your image too, buddy. Everyone thinks you _and_ him were the ones fighting" Tsukasa said clearly.

Ikuto sighed, throwing his water bottle up in the air and catching it. "Fine, I'll think about it".

"Oh, yay!" Tsukasa squealed. "I think I already sent you the performance schedule, so read it. Now." He demanded.

Ikuto rolled his eyes, clicking on the file and opening it up. Of course he wasn't allowed to turn off the webcam, or Tsukasa would know for sure that he wasn't actually reading the schedule. "…You're dating someone?" Ikuto suddenly asked, making Tsukasa snort out the water he was in the middle of drinking.

"Wh-what are you talking about?!" he panicked, grabbing a tissue and wiping his mouth.

"This message says that you need to pick up the watch you left at her place last night" Ikuto stated with a sly smirk, loving Tsukasa's reaction.

"Ah, I sent you the wrong file! D-don't read any more of that, punk!" Tsukasa warned. "The file must be on the memory card in my car… I'll be right back. Don't you dare turn off that webcam thing of yours". During his hurry out the door, the man accidentally bumped the camera on his way out, so it was now allowing Ikuto to get a good view of the corner of the room.

The blue-haired male yawned, leaning back in his chair as he placed his headphones on, drowning out all noises with his music. That was the beauty of being alone in this house. You could listen to music and no one would bother you. No one like Hinamori Amuto.

He then reached back to his water, pouring more into the empty glass beside him. Just as he was doing so, something on the webcam caught his attention.

Yukari pushed Amu into the wall, hands firmly on the pinkette's shoulders. "There's no one here-"

"Are you sure this is okay?" Amu asked, biting her lip – but not the lower one, of course – as she looked around the office, failing to notice the webcam pointed directly at her.

"Hurry up and pull down your pants, I need to help your 'testicle'" Yukari demanded.

Ikuto accidentally choked on his water, holding a hand to his chest as he had a coughing fit.

"H-help it?" Amu repeated.

"Wait! People might be able to see from the outside" Yukari jumped to the light switch, flicking off the lights and resuming what she was doing to help Amu.

Earlier on when the pinkette was practicing dance, one of the two balls that she had taped to her underwear (for reasons, I'm sure you already know: To make sure she looked like a guy 'down there' also) Anyway, one of the balls had rolled out. So, it was Yukari's mission to get it back into place and make sure that it stuck there.

This was unknown to Ikuto, though, who must've been getting strange thoughts in his head as he heard the two people talking, but couldn't see anything.

"What are they...?" He sputtered, pointing at the screen as he backed away in his chair.

"Hurry!"

"It's not… working!"

"Oh, there! It's sticking, now"

"_What's_ sticking?" Ikuto whispered quietly in fear.

The lights then turned back on, allowing Ikuto to breathe once more as he saw Amu walk over to Yukari with a smile. "It's fine now. I put it in".

Yukari crossed her arms, peering down the bridge of her nose at Amu. "That truly is amazing how when you wrap that thing around your non-existent breasts, you really look like you have no boobs, even if you _are_ a girl" she commented, feeling proud at the moment for being blessed with an actual chest, unlike Amu, who was little-miss-A-cup.

"Yeah, yeah. But, thanks for all your work" Amu thanked with a smile, ignoring the previous indirect insult. "I'm sure no one will know that I'm a girl, thanks to you!".

With that, the two females hurried out of sight, back into the dance class just out the door, leaving one person temporarily unable to speak.

He sat at his computer, expression blank, despite his wider than usual eyes, mouth slightly ajar, and body unmoving.

"He's a… girl?"

**Please let me know of any spelling/grammar mistakes!**


	5. Secret's Out

**Chapter 5: Secret's out**

The studio doors flung open, cool air rushing in along with a very determined Ikuto, quickly removing his sunglasses as he scanned the bright room for a certain individual.

He had to confirm it, and see for himself if Amuto was a girl.

Kukai noticed Ikuto enter, even from his seat at the other side of the room, and waved at him with a smile, continuing to stuff food into his face as he took a rest and sat leaning against the wall-sized mirror beside Tadase. "Good morning, Ikuto" Tadase greeted calmly while watching the blue-head cautiously.

Something seemed off about him. Just by the way his eyebrows were slanted downwards with the determination set in his eyes.

It was then that Ikuto saw her, sitting in the corner of the room talking with Yukari and Nikaidou. She was wearing the same t-shirt and sweat pants as the ones she wore when on the webcam, so Ikuto knew he wasn't just hallucinating and imagined the entire thing.

Seeing him walk towards her, Amu quickly stood up and bowed quickly. She still feared that if she bowed for too long, he'd karate-chop her back in half. "Hey, Tsukiyo-".

A small 'oof' escaped Amu's mouth as Ikuto hugged her tightly, smooshing her face into his chest.

Everyone in the room froze. Even time seemed to stop in order to witness this once-in-a-lifetime moment.

No one could explain in words how out of character this was for Ikuto. Kukai even dropped the apple he was about to bite into.

Ikuto felt stupid for making such a bizarre move. But, it was what had to be done. In order to see if Amu was really a girl, he would be able to tell by hugging her. And just like he had predicted, she felt so fragile in his grasp. No guy – no matter how wimpy – could ever feel like that.

He pulled away quickly, hands rested firmly on Amu's shoulders. It took him a minute to find his voice.

"… You actually _are_ a g-"

"Ikuto! Glad you could make it!" Tsukasa exclaimed, arms wide as he entered the room with a memorable, irritating reporter following close behind, snapping as many pictures as he could.

"See, reporter Kiseki? Ikuto and Amuto are good friends, it's not out of the ordinary that someone mistook their rough-housing for an actual fight" Tsukasa laughed, slapping Kiseki across the back.

The reporter quickly inched up to Amu and Ikuto, acting as if he was invisible, and took a picture just inches away from the two, who were looking at him like he was a moron – which, he was. Kiseki then jumped back to Tsukasa, walking ahead of him out the room with his chin pointed in the air, not admitting that his accusation was wrong.

Ikuto swiftly followed after Tsukasa, desperately needing to convince him to get Amu out of the band, especially now that he knew that certain piece of information.

"It looked like he was going to kill you" Yukari whispered to Amu, who could only nod in reply.

Kukai looked over at Amu and with a chuckle, said, "I told you that once you get to know him, he's not that bad! He even gave you a hug!". He was then joined by the rest of the dance members in a chorus of 'Awwww's.

Amu rolled her eyes, feeling her brother's _cool n' spicy_ attitude starting to kick in. "Grow up, guys".

They just hooted and hollered in response. This made it even harder for Amu to push away the huge urge to blush.

"Do you want to go clean up now? The boys are going to use the showers down here, but the upstairs ones are free" Yukari confirmed, walking with an arm draped around Amu's shoulders while exiting the room towards the stairs.

Amu nodded, taking the towel out of Yukari's hands and bounding the rest of the way up the steep staircase.

She couldn't wait to change out of her sweaty clothes, take a shower, and dress into clean skinny jeans, a band tee, and converse shoes. She was getting used to her new designated fashion, and truth be told, she didn't mind it one bit.

"Shower, shower, shower" the girl sang, stepping under the lukewarm water. Nothing felt better than washing up after exercising. You could pretty much_ hear_ the dirt falling off.

The thought made Amu cringe. It wasn't exactly a pleasant thing to imagine.

Once completely washing off – and making sure to shampoo her hair twice – Amu dried herself off, pulling on her clean clothes. Almost as soon as she had her shirt on, and zipped up the zipper on her jeans, the change room door flung open, and in flew all the guys. Shirtless.

"Yo, Hinamori! Does the water work up here? 'Cause it doesn't downstairs" One of the dancers commented, wearing nothing but a skimpy towel around his waist, below his exceptionally toned chest.

Amu's eyes were wide as she made sure to make eye-contact and not look anywhere else at the moment. "Y-yeah, it works".

The guy grinned, flashing his pearly white teeth before hollering over his shoulders and telling all the other men that the water worked.

Amu didn't know what she had gotten herself into. Not only was her innocence being stolen from her, but everything was repeating. Example: Anytime a half-naked male would walk by, she'd look the other way, but then she'd find herself staring at yet another half-naked person.

"Hey, man! What's got you in a daze?" Kukai teased, ruffling Amu's hair as he passed by, also only wearing a small towel around his waist.

"God, please help me" Amu prayed quietly.

Just then, a towel was placed over her head, covering her eyes. "It's getting crammed in here, you should go meet up with Yukari-san" Tadase said with a gentle smile while giving Amu a small push towards the door.

"Hallelujah" was her whispered, weak reply.

It took her a few minutes, but she was finally able to walk on her own without clinging to the wall for support. If she was back at the church, she'd definitely be in the confession booth with the priest, asking for forgiveness for the sin she had just made. No one should see that much of a male's skin unless they're married.

Amu sighed, rubbing her face tiredly and pulling the towel from off of her head so she could see where she was going. "That was a nightmare" she said quietly as she rounded a corner. She didn't even make it to the bottom floor and already came to a stop. Her plan was originally to get out of the building as quickly as possible. Let's just say she failed.

Because, standing on the other side of the corner Amu just turned, was Ikuto.

"You're busted" He stated. His arms were crossed firmly across his chest as he looked her straight in the eye. Amu noticed his eyes looked scarier right now.

"What do you mean?" She asked, trying to keep her brother's attitude intact.

Ikuto smirked, and then held up his phone for Amu to see. After pressing a button, a video started playing. One that had Amu and Yukari talking in Tsukasa's office, including the pinkette saying,_ "I'm sure no one will know that I'm a girl, thanks to you!"._

"Look familiar?" Ikuto questioned.

Amu could only stare, temporarily forgetting how to breathe. "H-how did you get that?" she asked shakily.

The blue-haired male in front of her seemed to get more amused by the minute. "The webcam in the manager's office was left on, and I happened to see everything that went on between you and Yukari. I transferred the video onto my phone to show Tsukasa".

If it didn't happen already, Amu's stomach officially plummeted to the floor, where it was picked up and dragged away by a rabid turtle.

"I … see" Amu replied slowly. Nikaidou hadn't educated her on what to do in a situation like this, and her mind was drawn a blank. Ikuto might've already showed Tsukasa the video, but if that had happened, Amu was sure that Tsukasa would've already kicked her out of the band by now. What was Ikuto waiting for, to just scare her ahead of time?

Without another word Ikuto turned on his heel, phone securely in his hand as he walked down the semi-lit deserted hallway towards the elevator.

She had to get that phone. Amu knew that for sure. But, she also knew that Ikuto wasn't the kind of person who would give it to her even if she begged.

Taking one hesitant step forwards, she slowly lifted her arm out, but dropped it back at her side.

That's when the small 'ding' of the elevator sounded, and the doors opened.

Amu took off in a run, reaching the elevator just when Ikuto stepped inside it and turned around to face the doors. At that moment, Amu grabbed the phone, running at full speed down the hallway, away from him.

Running and trying to delete a video at the same time was something Amu would have to practice. Just now wasn't the best time to discover that.

"Crap! How do you delete this?" she panicked as her pace slowed to a stop outside the studio on a balcony.

Pressing all kinds of buttons did no good.

Pale fingers suddenly came into view and grabbed onto the other side of the phone, but Amu quickly tried to pull it away, ensuing a tug-a-war.

"Even without this video, you're still a girl! What are you going to do when everyone else finds out?" Ikuto asked, still maintaining a firm hold.

Grip loosening, Amu's eyes glazed over as she thought about that. What _would _happen if Tsukasa and everyone else had discovered her secret? What would happen with her brother?

"I… I don't know…"

Unknown to them at the moment, a set of emerald eyes was watching them curiously from the floor just above, face nearly squashed against the window to get a better view.

_"-going to do when everyone else finds out?"_

Kukai furrowed his eyebrows at the question. Find out about what? And why were they holding hands?! From the angle he was standing, the view he got looked as though Amu and Ikuto were holding hands while facing each other.

Not to mention, they were talking about something that seemed very important, he observed. He slowly took a drink out of his water bottle, watching Ikuto suddenly pull his hands away, nearly falling backwards as something went flying in the air, over the side of the balcony's railing.

By this time, Kukai's mind was swarming with questions and ideas of what could have been going on between his two roomies. "Is it… what I think it is?" he asked himself slowly.

He covered his mouth when an idea came to mind that made perfect sense. Once spinning around, he hurried away from the scene, piecing everything together before he allowed himself to believe that preposterous idea.

"Why did you let go of it?!"

"Y-You told me to!" Amu replied, leaning against the balcony to look at the cell phone sitting on top of a large van. How it ended up flying through the air and landing on the vehicle remained a mystery to both of them.

Usually when you play a game of tug-a-war and one person lets go of the rope or whatever it was that the two people were fighting over, it doesn't go flying through the air, it falls to the ground. This was a different situation.

Amu rushed out the front doors, running towards the van along with Ikuto.

As if reading each other's minds, Ikuto hoisted Amu up so she could crawl onto the van and retrieve the phone. "Hey, it didn't break!" the pinkette announced with a smile while examining the phone.

"Catch!"

Now, Amu was on her own to try to climb off of the van while Ikuto was inspecting his phone.

"…It's not turning on…" she heard him mumble to himself.

She had to fight the urge to scoff. All he cared about was if his phone worked or not? Okay…that _was_ important, she had to admit – but he could at least help her back down to the ground.

The sound of the van's engine start up made Amu's heart nearly stop beating. "Ik-Ikuto!".

He glanced over his shoulder, seeing her disappear down the street still sitting on top of the van.

"Crap"

* * *

Tadase hummed softly to himself as he washed the lettuce without a care in the world, while a dark cloud formed overtop of Kukai, who was sitting at the counter watching his blonde friend absentmindedly.

Something was definitely going on with Amuto and Ikuto. He wasn't clueless enough to miss those signs.

"Hey… what do you think of Hinamori?" Kukai decided to ask, breaking the silence.

Tadase merely shrugged and continued making his salad. "He's fine. Why do you ask?" He then began wandering through the fridge, pulling out random vegetables.

"…There's something strange about him" Kukai replied. "Don't you also get that feeling?"

The blonde slowly started chopping up pieces of carrots, clearly deep in thought. "Well… he's not like other guys, that's for sure. But he's nice".

"A little too nice around Ikuto" Kukai muttered just loud enough for himself to hear.

Tadase then took a seat at the counter, across from Kukai, with a bowl of salad in front of him. Right as Tadase took a bite, Kukai decided to ask the question he'd been aching to know the answer to. "Is Ikuto gay?".

Tadase choked on his salad, coughing uncontrollably as he reached for his water, taking a sip and clearing his throat. "No. What the heck has gotten into you?"

"Nothing!" Kukai said with a grin. "Just… answering questions I've gotten from fans! You know how they are".

Tadase smiled softly. "They _do_ come up with some pretty strange questions" he agreed.

"Well, I'm going to go answer those e-mails now, and tell them that no, Ikuto isn't gay!" The brunette announced before walking out of the room. Once out of Tadase's sight, his grin faded, being replaced by a frown. If Ikuto wasn't gay, then was Amuto?

_That would explain why he panicked when finding out about getting his first kiss taken, and why he showers in different rooms. He acts just like a girl. _Kukai cut his thoughts short and lay down on his bed, gazing up at the dark ceiling. Whatever it was that was going on with Amuto and Ikuto, he was determined to find out.

* * *

Fingers frozen cold, Amu clutched the side of the van tightly in fear of sliding off. If the vehicle didn't stop soon, she knew for a fact that her hands would get too weak and she'd end up falling.

At last, the van slowed to a stop at a red light, allowing Amu to finally look up at her surroundings. They must've only been driving for a few minutes, so she couldn't be that far from the dance studio.

"You idiot, hurry up and jump!" a voice yelled.

Amu cringed while looking to her side, seeing Ikuto running towards her as fast as his legs could take him. She couldn't admit that she was too scared or she'd never hear the end of it.

"Jump!" he repeated, now only a few feet away.

The van suddenly lurched from underneath Amu: her cue to jump off before she'd be taken any further. So, she did jump, landing on Ikuto.

Instead of getting off of him immediately – which was probably what he wanted her to do – Amu held onto Ikuto tightly, burying her face into his chest out of fear, and he continued to lie in the middle of the empty road on his back, feeling very uncomfortable.

Once feeling calmer, Amu stood up, clearing her throat awkwardly. "C-can I continue to stay with the band for a little while longer?"

Ikuto raised an eyebrow at her. "Why?"

"Just until I find my mom! It won't be that long!"

Ikuto smirked, shoving his hands in his pockets as he began walking away. "We'll see how long you can last" he replied.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Amu asked once catching up with him, trying to keep at his pace.

"Do you know that we have a filming schedule tomorrow?" Ikuto questioned, not bothering to look at her when he spoke.

"Yup, I'll do my best!" Amu exclaimed with a smile.

They continued walking, but Ikuto tried his best to hide any signs of amusement from her. "…You do know that the filming location is at a swimming pool, right?" he clarified, already knowing the answer.

"S-swimming…pool?"

"Yup. I'll look forward to see what idea you come up with to avoid swimming without a shirt on" Ikuto commented. He continued to walk even though Amu had stopped.

Her arms immediately flew up to her chest. "Without a shirt on...?"


	6. A Filming Experience to Remember

**Author's Note: Hey, sorry for the slow update. Guess what! It's exam time of the year! Joy to the world, baby. So, I have been suffering in my cold, dark room, mountains of textbooks galore surrounding me, along with papers, pens, Mozart music and nerdy glasses. Doesn't that sound like fun. But, in four days, the exams are over, and I am back on track for my updates, so stay tuned!**

Chapter 6

Nikaidou rubbed his tired eyes in hopes of blocking out the buzzing of the busy streets just a few feet away from his seat outside a small café. Leaning over his hot cup of coffee, he let the steam fog up his glasses, using that as an excuse to not look at Yukari as she scolded him.

"How could he find out she's a girl?" she hissed for the thousandth time that hour, eyes shooting accusing looks his direction "you let something slip, didn't you? How typical!"

"No, I didn't do or say _anything_, Sanjo" Nikaidou grumbled, his voice muffled by the hand he was leaning on. "Amu-chan said that he just… found out. That kid is too observant for his own good".

Yukari swallowed her coffee before scoffing loudly, noisily dropping her glass back onto the table. "Oh, so now you're blaming Ikuto!?"

"Saying he's observant isn't an act of blame" Nikaidou replied bitterly as he now joined into the glaring contest Yukari had just begun. It was a wonder these two had ever dated each other. Now they wanted nothing to do with one-another.

"…In order to keep from getting the secret out, we could cage Ikuto up somewhere, only feeding him bread and water!" Nikaidou then announced, laughing evilly under his breath as he imagined that. "It'd serve him right…"

Yukari picked a grape out of her bowl of fruit and threw it hard at the man's head, looking down her nose at him. "He's not an animal. I'm sure he'll keep it a secret from the other two and everyone else".

"Knowing Tsukiyomi, he'll somehow use it against her. Also known as: Blackmailing" Nikaidou muttered under his breath, familiar with Ikuto's tactics.

* * *

Amu ran down the side of the pool towards where Ikuto, Kukai and Tadase were sitting, a smile on her face. "Ikuto, we get to film with our clothes _on_!" she announced gratefully.

Ikuto looked at her with a blank expression, while Kukai eyed her suspiciously and Tadase just smiled.

Ikuto then stood up, walking away from the group with Amu. "Man, that's a shame" he began with a sigh. "I was looking forward to see you in a bathing suit, even if it was a one piece. It'd be worth looking" he commented with a smirk.

"P-pervert! I'm a guy, remember?" Amu whispered harshly, folding her arms across her chest in embarrassment due to his previous comments.

"Tsukiyomi, Hinamori!" the film director called from his seat by the pool. "Get in your positions!"

They climbed into the water – leaving their jeans and t-shirts on – along with Tadase and Kukai. They all held onto the side of the pool while looking straight at the cameras, waiting for the cue.

"And… action!"

One by one, they turned around slowly and let go of the side of the pool, sinking into the water.

Amu pushed off of the bottom of the pool, spitting out water as she resurfaced. Everyone else came back up gracefully, just as they were instructed.

"Hinamori, try again" the director said. "Remember: gracefully and naturally".

Amu nodded once, getting back into her starting position.

Kukai patted Amu on the back in encouragement before climbing out of the pool with Ikuto and Tadase so they could dry off and prepare for the next scene.

Filming music videos were always fun, but challenging when you were inexperienced, like Amu.

She couldn't count how many times she had to redo that one simple scene. She was either coughing, coming up too fast, not 'natural looking' enough, or just downright ungraceful.

Finally, Amu did the scene 'right' in the eyes of the director, and was allowed to get dried off with everyone else. "Hey, don't worry about messing up. Everyone does on their first filming experience" Tadase comforted as he took a seat next to the shivering pinkette.

"Y-yeah ri-right" Amu muttered through chattered teeth and purple lips.

Tadase laughed softly before taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "No, really. It was even like that for me!". Amu shot him a look of disbelief.

"But, I had to film a 'Save the Dogs' campaign, not a music video" Tadase stated with a queasy look, clearly not liking the memory. "The director told me to never say this certain word while in the same room as this one dog. I made a mistake, and accidentally said the word I wasn't suppose to, which made the dog get mad. Let's just say there was a lot of girlish screams coming from me as I was chased by that crazed dog"

Just being told a comforting story made Amu laugh despite her half-frozen state.

Kukai peered around the corner of the wall at them, watching them suspiciously. "It can't be… no, Tadase's just being friendly!" He was failing at trying to convince himself. "Ah, I'm such a bad person!" he clutched the sides of his face in hopes of getting rid of his 'evil' thoughts.

"We're filming the next scene!" the director announced, his voice echoing throughout the room.

Kukai dragged himself out of his hiding place and over to where the cameras were, trying not to think about the possibility of everybody in the band being gay.

"Good luck" Tadase said to Amu as he ruffled her hair and walked away.

Just as the pink-haired girl began walking, Kukai bypassed her, eyeing her suspiciously and not even going through the trouble to make the look unseen. "…Hi, Kukai" Amu greeted, uncertain with a small wave of her hand.

He didn't respond, just crossed his arms and began walking towards the water.

Amu sighed quietly. This would be a long day.

* * *

"Good job today everyone!" the director commented while the people around him finished up putting their supplies away. "You can go change now".

Before she could react, clean clothes were placed into Amu's arms before someone pushed her towards the men's locker room as a way of telling her to hurry up and change. Slight problem there.

She slowly made her way towards the locker room, lingering behind everyone else. As she walked, the cold pool water that had sloshed up on the walkway continued sending shivers up her spine, reminding her that her clothes were still very cold and very wet.

Finally everyone was out of the room, and that's when Amu hid behind a wall and quickly began undressing.

**With Ikuto…**

He snuck one glance around the room, then another look in the other direction. All men and no Amu.

Ikuto cautiously began walking around the locker room, searching thoroughly for a certain pink-haired girl. He felt very self-conscious by just thinking of the possibility of her being in the same room as him while he changed.

His posture straightened at that thought. Why would he care? It's not like he had anything to hide.

"No… she wouldn't come in here" he finally decided quietly to himself before rolling his eyes at his own foolishness, removing the towel from around his shoulders and pulling off his wet shirt.

Once drying off and changing into clean clothes, Ikuto placed everything in the laundry hamper, passing Tadase and Kukai along the way. He couldn't help but overhear the conversation between the two of them.

"So, you didn't see Hinamori-san come in here, at all?" Tadase clarified, looking around the room.

"No, I didn't" Kukai replied with a tired sigh. "Why are you wondering? I think there's something weird going on between you two. What are you hiding?"

Tadase laughed. "I'm not hiding anything. I just didn't see him come down here, so I was wondering where he was".

Ikuto furrowed his eyebrows as he slowly closed his locker once retrieving his water bottle from out of it. So, she didn't come down here after all. "Then, that means…"

"D-director-san, I forgot my cell phone by the pool! Could you turn the lights on, pretty please?" Kukai practically begged, bounding over to the director as he entered the room.

Ikuto's eyes widened, quickly turning around in time to see the two men disappear out the locker room door. If Amu wasn't in the men's room, she couldn't be in the girl's locker room either, because it would be locked. The only other place she could change would be out by the pool.

Dropping his water bottle on a nearby bench, he hurried after Kukai and the director, entering the pool just as the lights turned on. "…Yeah, just be quick and find it!" he heard the directors impatient voice say from across the room.

Ikuto shuffled down the side of the pool in hopes of not being noticed by Kukai, looking for Amu as he moved. Why was he always the one caught up in these situations? Of course he couldn't just leave and have Amu get discovered. He felt too protective of her to let that happen.

He stopped moving once coming across a towel. More specifically: her towel.

"Crap, where are you…?" Ikuto muttered, picking up the towel from off the wet floor.

"Hey, I found it!" Kukai's voice echoed throughout the room. "Good, now let's go get some pizza!" the director replied with equal cheerfulness.

At that moment Ikuto could've sworn he saw a few bubbles rise to the surface of the water. He took a few steps closer to get a better look at the water. More bubbles rose.

So, that's where Amu was - holding her breath at the bottom of the pool. "…How long are you going to stay there for?" Ikuto asked quietly, crouching down.

He glanced over at the clock, seeing that almost a minute had passed. Most likely she had been under there a lot longer, though.

Despite his hatred for water, Ikuto pushed off the side of the pool, diving into the cold liquid towards Amu, whose eyes were slowly closing just as his hand grabbed tightly onto hers.

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER.. UUH… 6?  
So guys I have a poll on my profile, could you pretty please go check it out? It'd really be helpful!**


	7. Types of Girls and Autographs

**Chapter 7**

The air was tense and heavy between the two individuals as they had a stare-down, not a single sign of movement or sound. Despite the colorful flowery scenery surrounding them, and the occasional noise of a bird, the atmosphere was dark and unpleasant.

Well, not really, Kukai was just imagining that it was as he gripped his weapon tightly, aiming it at the person standing in front of him.

"I'll give you one last chance to speak!" he warned, "why were you and Ikuto alone at the pool?"

Amu bit down on her lip, arms tired from being held in the air for so long under the orders of Kukai, who told her to show a sign of mercy. "Uh…" she began, still planning out what she was going to say.

Of course she wouldn't admit that she had almost drowned so Ikuto dove into the water to save her, because that would just trigger more questions to come flying at her. What had really happened, was yes, Ikuto did have to save her, but once she rose back to the surface, she was fully conscious – thank goodness, since neither Ikuto nor Amu wanted CPR to happen.

"Wrong answer" Kukai replied instantly and applied pressure to the button, turning on the hose used to spray the garden. Within a few moments, Amu was drenched with the cold water, but, she didn't mind. It was a warm day after all.

"Kukai!" she yelled through her laughter while trying to run away from the brunette. Kukai continued spraying the water at her, not wanting his 'genius' plan to fail. He – being someone who wasn't exactly bright – had the great idea of trapping Amu on the sundeck, and getting her to talk. It didn't take an idiot to see that his plan went down the drain since Amu didn't mind the cold water.

Kukai's ego was wounded slightly once realizing his scheme had failed. His arm slowly went limp, eyes widened ever so slightly, a light blush barely visible on his cheeks.

Amu looked so cute when she laughed, he noticed, watching her shake her head in hopes of getting the water out of her hair. Being distracted, instead of leaning against the house like he planned to, Kukai leaned against a nearby cactus, falling on it entirely. He yelped while jumping away from the plant, needles sticking out of him.

"Whoa, man, you alright?" Amu asked, reminding herself to act like a guy and not to scream or do anything girly.

"Oh, yeah, getting thorns stabbed into your skin feels just amazing" Kukai replied sarcastically, squealing like a girl after pulling one of the needles out of his arm.

Amu nearly had to drag him inside the house, sitting him down at the kitchen table. "How did you manage that?" The pinkette asked as she began removing the thorns one by one.

Kukai flinched after every removal. "…I ju- OW! I must've just go-gotten distra- ow, that hurts!"

"Sorry"

Kukai huffed, scoffed and sputtered, crossing his arms and refusing to let Amu remove another one. He reminded her of a stubborn child, one that wanted a cookie, but didn't want to pick up his toys in order to get that cookie.

"It'll hurt more if you leave them in!" Amu pointed out, following Kukai around the house.

"I refuse, you just want to see me suffer!"

"I don't want you to look like a porcupine!" Amu retorted truthfully.

Kukai stopped immediately with Amu crashing into his back as an outcome. "OOOOW!" the girl yelled, clutching a needle that was transferred from Kukai's back, to her arm.

She pulled it out quickly, clenching her teeth together tightly to keep her from yelling in pain, eyes beginning to water. "Sucker" Kukai said while sticking his tongue out at the girl.

The next thing he knew, a handful of prickles was pulled out of his side as Tadase walked past him, smiling innocently at the two, holding the thorns in his hands. "Oh my, Hinamori-san! Let's get you a towel" The blond stated, immediately noticing Amu's water-soaked clothes.

"Ah, thank you"

Tadase sat the pink-haired girl down, taking a towel and drying off her hair while Kukai cringed from his seat on the couch, forever holding a grudge against cactus plants.

He stiffly reached for the remote, turning on the TV and flipping to a channel he liked. The first thing on the screen was a girl who's blonde hair was up in two pigtails, and purple eyes that seemed to see right through you. Her outfit was a tight black dress that stopped just above her knees, where it flared at the end.

"Ah… now _that's_ a ten" Kukai commented with a nod.

Tadase smiled softly once handing Amu a glass of hot chocolate, "She _is_ very good looking"

Amu was lost. Did _everyone_ except her know who this person was? "Eh… who is she?" the girl asked gingerly over the rim of her hot chocolate. There was a long silence as both boys turned to look at Amu with looks of disbelief plastered on their faces.

"You don't know who Hoshina Utau is?" Kukai repeated. Amu simply shook her head. "She's only the hottest female idol in Japan! Her rank is one beneath us, and we're the top band here" Kukai explained enthusiastically. "She's my type of girl. She has spunk and talent".

Amu and Tadase shared a quiet snigger at the love-struck brunette.

"Wh- well, what's your type of girl, Hinamori!?" Kukai demanded as he rose to his feet, pointing a finger at Amu. There were two sides to his question. It would not only tell him what kind of girl Amu was interested in, but it would also tell him if he was imagining this whole 'gay thing' between everyone.

Amu, however, didn't know what to say. She was a girl who liked boys, not other girls. "Uh… a girl with brains is what I prefer" she ended up saying with a nod.

Tadase shrugged, "Sounds good".

Ikuto then walked in through the front door, instantly going to the fridge for a bottle of water. "Ah, Ikuto, what's your type of girl?" Kukai asked energetically while springing over to him.

Ikuto studied Kukai weirdly as he took a sip of his water. "Why do you look like a porcupine?"

"Th-that doesn't matter!" Kukai huffed, "what kind of person do you like?". Amu took another drink of her hot chocolate, turning around to look at the two boys.

"Amuto-" Ikuto stated, making Kukai nearly choke on his own spit, and Amu's eyes widen. "-you have whip cream on your mouth" Ikuto finished his sentence before walking away, ignoring Kukai's question.

"I-I thought he meant that he likes your type of person!" Kukai exclaimed, holding a hand over his rapidly beating heart while Amu hurriedly wiped the whip cream off of her mouth. She had to admit that Kukai wasn't the only one whose heart rate increased by hearing that.

* * *

"You want me to help you make an autograph?" Ikuto repeated, arms folded across his chest while twirling around in his chair to look at Amu.

"Y-yeah, I don't know how to make one, and I'm sure you're a pro at them with being in the music business for so long and all…" Amu replied in embarrassment, eyes wandering down to look at the floor.

She barely had any confidence left in her. Most of it was used just to knock on Ikuto's door and walk into his room. "You don't have to create one for me, I just need your opinion on which one you think is the best!" Amu continued, placing a pile of papers on the desk in front of Ikuto, each paper containing a different autograph.

The blue-haired boy merely scanned through a few pages before sighing. "They're all terrible" he commented bluntly. "An autograph should resemble the person. Since you're so thick-headed and slow, that's the way your autograph should be".

If an arrow hadn't already plunged through Amu's small ego, it certainly did now. Thick-headed? No one had ever said that to her. But, then again, she had never met someone like Ikuto before. "Thank you for your time" she said before taking the papers back and sprinting out of the room as fast as her legs could take her.

Once she was gone, Ikuto leaned against his desk, looking down at the blank piece of paper in front of him. "Even if I made one, I'm sure she wouldn't even be able to copy it" he commented quietly to himself, idly picking up a nearby pencil.

"…Then again, it's such a simple name, it wouldn't be too hard to do…" Ikuto pondered aloud, repeating 'Amuto' under his breath as he began creating the autograph.

The first one Ikuto thought looked pretty good, but then the thought struck him that Amu would have to be able to copy it, and that's when Ikuto crumpled up the paper and threw it away. The design would have to be simpler for Amu's brain to handle.

Paper after paper, hour after hour, Ikuto continuously threw away his drafts, not finding one that suit Amu.

Finally, with sore fingers and a headache, Ikuto had completed his masterpiece. He looked contently at it while holding it up in the air, admiring it from different angles. "Not bad" he commented on his way out of his room, wandering his way to Amu's room.

Thankfully she wasn't in there, so he was able to slip it in the middle of the pile of papers sitting at the small coffee table, then hurry back out of the room.

Just when Ikuto was a few feet down the hallway, he spotted Amu on her way into her bedroom, a paper in her grasp. "Amu, where were you and what were you doing?" Ikuto asked, liking the fact that only he out of all the band members knew her real name.

"Oh, I was with Tadase-kun" Amu replied with a smile. "He helped me make an autograph!".

Unknowingly, Ikuto clenched his jaw tightly together and adverted his gaze away from the pink-haired girl. All that time he had spent on that one autograph was for nothing?

"The kiddy king... is that so" it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah! Do you want to see it?" Amu asked excitedly. "No thanks, I have more important things to do than look at your silly autograph" Ikuto replied bitterly.

If he hadn't spent nearly two hours on that one stupid autograph, maybe he would have liked to see what Tadase and Amu had come up with, but at the moment, he wasn't exactly feeling happy.

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry" Amu said quickly with a small bow.

A small 'tch' escaped Ikuto's mouth on his way back down the hall to his room, where he planned to have a long, relaxing sleep. But, almost fifteen minutes after his head hit the pillow, he remembered one important detail: he had left the autograph he made in Amu's room.

His eyes snapped open, sitting up in his bed. What would happen if she came across it? There was no way she'd mistake it for one of her own creations, it was too professional looking.

Ikuto could just imagine what would happen. Amu comes across it, and through her laughing fit, says "Awww, Ikuto-kun, you made me an autograph? That's so cute, but Tadase's is waaay better!" then she'd resume laughing.

Even though the thought was completely unlike Amu in all ways, it didn't calm Ikuto's nerves. Really, what would happen if she saw it? "I have to get it back" Ikuto declared while climbing out of his warm bed.

The house was silent, meaning everyone had gone to sleep, including Amu.

Ikuto slowly opened the door to Amu's room, seeing her fast asleep at the coffee table, a small bit of drool escaping her mouth. He quietly closed the door behind him, inching his way over to the coffee table, where the only source of light was sitting.

It didn't take long for Ikuto to see that the pile he had placed the autograph in, was the same pile Amu was lying on. "Crap…" He crouched down behind her, gently holding onto her shoulders, and trying to pull her back without waking her up, so he could grab the paper out from under her.

Amu lay with her back against Ikuto's chest as he flipped through the pile of papers, looking for his autograph. At last he came across it, folded it up and put it in his pocket.

He then tried to put Amu back to how she was sleeping before, but just before her head was rested once more on the coffee table, she moved around in her sleep, pushing backwards against Ikuto, whose leg got caught on the lamps' plug, pulling it out of the wall.

In pure darkness he lay there on the floor with Amu asleep on top of him. He didn't think it was even possible for people to get into these situations. But, with the dangerous Amu, anything was possible.

"..How the heck did that happen…?" he whispered to himself, staggering to sit back up and put Amu back to her sleeping position. The thing Ikuto was most grateful for at the moment was that she didn't wake up.

After stumbling around in the dark for a little bit, Ikuto gradually made it out of the dark room, closing the door behind him and leaning on it with his eyes closed, exhaling deeply. That didn't go as planned, but at least he got the paper.

* * *

_Chapter 8 preview---_

_Amu's eyes widened, her grip tightening around the photograph in her hands. It was of her, her brother, and her parents. "Th-that means that whoever sent this picture to me knows who and where my mom is! So… once I get that phone call tonight from the person who sent this picture… I… I can leave this place?"._

**Guess what guys! I got twitter.. yeah... I finally caved in. So if you guys want to follow me or just see what i'm up to (in a non creepy kinda way...) my twitter is jackthepumpkin7 I couldn't fit in two more 7's! D: It was devastating really...  
**


	8. Mommy Dearest's Location

**Chapter 8**

Amu couldn't believe what she was hearing. She could just sit there with the envelope in her hands, staring at it with wide eyes.

Nikaidou, who was sitting across from her, chuckled slightly, but secretly on the inside, he worried. Whoever sent this to Amu, obviously knew her and her brother. That meant that Amu might be able to leave, and then what would happen to the band? Amuto was still in America, and there was no way he could come back this soon.

"So… you're saying that the lady who dropped this off will phone later today?" Amu repeated with excitement in her voice as she tore open the envelope, pulling out whatever was inside.

"Yes… that's what she said before she ran off… such an odd person" Nikaidou commented while rubbing his chin as he thought of how weird the girl was acting while around him.

Amu's eyes widened, her grip tightening around the photograph in her hands. It was of her, her brother, and her parents. "Th-that means that whoever sent this picture to me knows who and where my mom is! So… once I get that phone call tonight from whoever sent this envelope… I… I can leave this place?"

Nikaidou didn't even have to reply to the question. Amu already knew that she could leave. After all, that was the deal she had made with Ikuto: that she would stay in the band until she found her mom. She could just hope that this person knew where her mom was.

"Hey, you have to get changed!" Nikaidou exclaimed after looking at his watch, jumping off of the bench he was sitting on.

"B-but what about the phone call?" Amu asked while being pushed down the hallway.

Nikaidou's eyebrows slanted downwards. Amu couldn't answer her phone while on stage, but if she didn't answer it, then she might never find out who that lady was.

"Uh… here, I'll take your phone, and if someone calls, then I'll answer it" he suddenly decided. Amu nodded while handing him her cell phone before running to the dressing room, not wanting Ikuto to scold her about always being late.

Amu suddenly skidded to a stop, eyes scanning the doors around her. Was she supposed to be in the B studio or D…? Knowing that she had no idea which one it was, she entered the studio D dressing room to her left, seeing only one person in there, sitting in a chair with her back towards Amu.

Maybe this lady could tell her where to go.

"Uh…excuse m-"

"Could you hand me my water?" the lady asked while rubbing her temples, not looking behind her to see who had entered. The pink-haired girl was confused at first, knowing the lady was thinking she was someone else, but obliged anyway and handed her the water bottle.

** OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

Yukari did the last finishing touch on Kukai's hair, stepping back to admire her work. "Pretty good, don't you think, Kukai? … Wait a minu- are you asleep!?".

Kukai's eyes lazily opened slightly, inhaling deeply while rubbing his face. "No.." he replied groggily, making Yukari scoff. "All this work I have to do, and you sleep through it all!"

She then double-checked Tadase's look, nodding in approval. Something was missing, though. Out of the four members of A.N. Jell, there were only three. "Wh-where is Amuto?" Yukari panicked, looking around the room quickly.

Ikuto, who was slightly dozing off, slowly opened his eyes once hearing that.

"He's already gone missing?" Kukai questioned with a slight laugh. "Check the washroom, he's probably panicking in there".

Yukari looked over at Ikuto, then forced out a laugh, "I'm sure he'll be fine!"

"Why are you telling me that? I don't have any relation with that guy" Ikuto drawled with a lazy eye roll, figuring Yukari was just trying to convince herself that everything was going to be okay. She had a tendency to panic about the smallest things when she was under pressure.

** OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

"Yeah, I'm in the band A.N. Jell with Ikuto" Amu replied with a smile, already loving this 'Souko' lady. Even if she seemed tired at the moment, she appeared to be a nice woman. "Ikuto's a nice guy in his own way" Amu commented, a small laugh following shortly after.

"Is that so…?" Souko said to herself while rummaging through her purse. "He must take care of other people well". Amu watched Souko drain her bottle of wine into her coffee cup before stating, "He's a fan of yours, actually. He has quite a few of your CDs in his room".

This made the blond woman stop in mid-drink and look over at the pink-haired girl. "Him, be a fan of mine?" she asked in disbelief, confusing Amu. Why was that so hard to believe?

"Then… if I give you an autograph, will you take it to him?" Souko asked.

"Yeah, of course!"

Souko smiled at the girl. Just the sight of Amu reminded her of someone, she just couldn't remember where. "You said your name was Amuto?" she clarified, getting a nod in reply from Amu.

Even though she wanted to tell Souko the truth and say she was a girl and her name was actually Amu, she refrained from doing so. "Amuto…Amuto… hm, that does sound familiar".

As soon as Souko handed Amu the autograph, it suddenly struck her that she still had to get ready for her performance. "Ah, thank you, Souko-san, but I have to go!" She exclaimed on her way out the door, shoving the autograph into her pocket.

She could just imagine how Yukari would be at this very moment. She'd be having a nervous breakdown in her mind, but would try to keep her strict attitude intact while refraining from ripping out Kukai's hair.

Amu hurriedly looked around the lobby, coming across a sign that said 'Studio B' with an arrow beside it, pointing down the hallway to Amu's right, where she saw Yukari standing with Tsukasa.

"There you are! We have to get you ready!" the woman announced and pulled Amu into the dressing room, instantly beginning to work on her hair and makeup.

"Nikaidou-san didn't call, did he?" Amu asked as Yukari applied blush on her cheeks.

"No. Now, stop moving" she replied. Nervous tension was beginning to build up inside of Amu as the minutes passed. Would the person really know where her mom was? But, what scared her most was what the woman's answer to that question would be.

"There you go, now get everything ready and come on out" Yukari said before placing down the straightening iron and exiting the room, passing Tadase along the way.

"Hey, you ready to go?" he asked with a smile, walking up to Amu, who nervously shook her head. The blonde laughed, patting the girl's shoulder. "Don't worry about it! This is your first concert, after all, so you can be nervous all you like" he comforted. "Oh, and Nikaidou told me to give this to you" he added while handing Amu her cell phone.

"He's meeting up with that lady as we speak, and he will give you a call once he finds out information" Even though Tadase had no idea what the message meant that he had just given Amu, _she_ certainly understood, and quickly nodded her head and placed her cell phone in her pocket.

"Alright, let's go!"

* * *

The concert seemed to drag on for what felt like hours to a certain pink-haired girl. The entire time, her cell phone was in mind. She could barely even concentrate on the lyrics to the songs, but she still managed to sing the right words at the right time.

Though, it took some time to get used to being on stage. It was already nerve-wracking for her to sing in public, let alone sing in front of millions of enthusiastic fans.

The light display didn't help much either. They were either always blinding Amu, or hurting her head. Either way, she'd have to get used to those over time.

At last she was able to go back to the dressing room to freshen up with everyone else, but she chose that time to check her phone messages to see if Nikaidou had texted her or not.

Ikuto noticed this, and grabbed onto her arm, pulling her out of the dressing room. He stood with his hand outstretched towards her. "Give me your phone".

Amu's grip tightened protectively over her cell phone, pressing it to her shoulder as she turned to the side just in case he would try to grab it away from her. "I'm waiting for a-"

"Phone call? Yeah, I could tell during the entire concert" Ikuto interrupted. "Your attention was fully on the cell phone instead of the performance".

The pinkette's eyebrows narrowed downwards as realization hit her. Was it obvious that she didn't perform her best? She'd be too selfish if she allowed the small electronic device to be on her mind instead of focusing on more important things for tonight.

So, she dropped the phone into Ikuto's hands, surprising him at how quickly her mind could change. "I'll do my best!" Amu exclaimed with a grin, giving the blue-haired boy a thumbs up before hurrying back into the change room where everyone else was getting ready for their photo shoot.

Ikuto stood there dumbfounded. What an odd girl.

Curiosity took over the cat as the phone seemed to tingle his fingers. Finally he peered down at the device, turning it on.

_One unread message._

Ikuto looked up at the doorway, making sure he was the only one around before opening up the message. The first thing he noticed was that is from Nikaidou.

"The message she was waiting for..." he said quietly to himself, daring to read it.

* * *

"Where did Ikuto go...? Oh well, smile!" Yukari said, holding up her camera, aimed at Kukai and Tadase, who were trying to rest for the time being.

"Nooo, I'm all sweaty" Kukai complained while burying his face into the couch cushion beside him. Being the drummer was harder than it appeared to be. He was the one who had to be constantly moving, and trying to be as energetic as possible.

"You always say that" Yukari muttered, eying Amu as she flung into the room. "Ah, Amuto, Nikaidou told me that he sent you the message you were waiting for" She stated, tearing her attention off of Kukai.

Amu's hand automatically reached for her pocket, then remembered Ikuto had her cell phone. "Eh... hey, Kukai, can I borrow your phone?" she asked quickly while jumping over to a worn-out brunette.

He watched her suspiciously over the rim of his water bottle. "...Okay... don't go crazy with it..." he said uneasily before handing it to her. Amu could tell he treasured his phone a lot, and reassured him with a smile that she wouldn't be too long.

She hurriedly dialed Nikaidou's number on her way outside, standing on one of the balconies. Hoping to calm her nerves, she gazed up at the stars, feeling her heartbeat quicken each passing ring of the phone. "Ah, Nikaidou-san! How did it go? Did you meet her? How is she related to me?" Amu asked before Nikaidou could even say 'hello'.

There was a silence despite the shallow breathing coming from Nikaidou's end. "...D-didn't you get the... text I sent...?" he finally asked.

"Oh... no, sorry. I don't have my phone right now. Kukai let me borrow his" Amu replied, leaning against the railing as the wind picked up, sending shivers down her spine.

"Oh... um... well, I don't think we'll be able to find your mom" Nikaidou replied with queasiness detected in his voice.

"O-oh? And by that you mean... you just don't know where she is?"

The man on the other line inhaled a deep, shaky breath before replying the words Amu dreaded to hear.

"We think sh-she passed away years ago"

At that moment everything seemed to close in around her. Her breath hitched in her throat as her heartbeat seemed to stop, blood turning cold. It didn't take long for Amu's knees to give way, sending her to the cold ground, clutching the phone to her chest as her eyes overflowed with tears.

She would never get to meet her mom, never give her a hug after a tiresome day... never be able to just talk to her?

Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore, and let it all out. Without caring who saw, she started crying. Letting go of all the tears she had held back over the years.

It was at that point that Kukai had found her after his long journey around the studio in search of his precious cell phone. Immediately once seeing Amu in her state of shock, he backed away, eyes wide as he started panicking.

"What happened? W-wait, stay there, I'll get help!" he exclaimed, clutching the sides of his head before rushing away, thinking Amu was dying or something, tending to be the over-dramatic band member.

He ran down the deserted hallways, passing Ikuto along the way to the medical room.

Ikuto stopped running once coming to the balcony Amu was on. Clearly he had seen the message Nikaidou had sent, or he wouldn't even have been there at the moment.

He slowly walked over to the girl sitting in fetal position, not knowing what to say at a time like this.

"Th-they say... she's n-not of... this world" Amu said between sobs, burying her face into her arms so Ikuto couldn't see her cry. It was embarrassing to cry in front of others. It was showing them your most vulnerable state. "I w-won't get to see my mom!" she wept.

Instead of speaking, Ikuto did something he knew would comfort her. He knelt down in front of her, pulling her to his chest and hugging her tightly. Maybe he did this because he too, knew what it was like to not have any parents to talk to, or turn to for guidance. Or maybe it was just 'cause he felt like it.

Either one, what mattered most was that this was the first time a new feeling caught Amu's attention. One that seemed to spark to life inside of her at that very instant. But... what was it?


	9. Roommates

**Chapter 9**

Kukai leaned back in his squishy seat, removing the earphones out of his ears while gazing out the window at the passing cars. "I feel bad for Amuto..." he said suddenly, breaking the silence in the van.

Tadase turned around in his seat to look at the brunette, thankful that someone finally decided to start a conversation.

"I mean . . . I've misjudged him a lot" Kukai confessed. "And now he even finds out that his mom died..."

Tadase frowned. "Yeah... it's too bad" he agreed, turning back around to look ahead of him, a frown still on his lips. He didn't know what it was like to be parentless. He had grown up in a great, loving family with both a mom and a dad. He couldn't imagine what Amu was going through at this very instant.

Ikuto remained quiet from his seat beside Tadase, but listened to the conversation anyway. He had told Amu to go home earlier than everyone else and to not even bother with the interviews, knowing she wasn't stable at the moment. She might have randomly burst into tears in the middle of the interview.

Kukai suddenly clapped his hands loudly together, making Ikuto flinch and rub his ear. "I have an idea!" he announced, ignoring Ikuto's death glare.

* * *

Amu yawned widely while emerging out of her room, rubbing her face tiredly. All that crying wore her out. It felt good to take a nap and re-energize.

"I wonder if they're home yet. . ." she said to herself, peering down the staircase, trying to see into the living room. From what she could see, there were lights on, but no one was there.

So, after going to the washroom, Amu climbed down the cold staircase, looking around for any sign of human life besides herself.

It was then she saw that the sun deck light was on, and there were voices coming from that direction. Slowly she made her way across the living room, the voices growing louder.

"... you guys are just weird. How can you not laugh at that?" Kukai said with a slight whine to his voice. "You tell that story all the time" Ikuto pointed out dryly.

Amu slowly opened the sliding door, poking her head out to see what was going on. She was greeted by a loud POP and confetti falling onto her.

"Congratulations on your first performance!" Kukai cheered, pulling Amu into a choke hold and rustling her hair. He quickly dashed over to where Ikuto and Tadase were sitting, all three of them wearing party hats.

Kukai was obviously the mastermind behind this celebration party, seeing as how he was the most energetic one there. Tadase was smiling at Amu, not minding the colorful party hat on his head, while Ikuto sat there with his arms crossed, not liking the stupid hat at all.

"Look who came to your party! We have the dashing Tsukiyomi Ikuto, the charming prince Hotori Tadase, and, of course, the all-time gorgeous Souma Kukai!" Kukai said, pointing to each person as he spoke about them.

Amu laughed softly after the introductions, "Thanks, guys".

Kukai jumped up from his seat, pulling Amu closer to the table. "You haven't eaten all day, right?" he clarified, showing the pinkette all the food scattered around the table. "Dig in!"

Amu slowly walked up to the table, taking a seat beside Tadase. While the blond and Kukai were handing out food to everyone, Amu accidentally made eye-contact with Ikuto.

"Because of you, I'm freezing cold" he muttered.

The girl tried to hide a smile as she apologized to him, feeling her heart rate increase again.

"Today was an adventure, huh? You deserve to relax now!" Kukai stated to Amu while handing her a plate full of food. Tadase nodded in agreement, ruffling Amu's hair. "We're a team, so we have to make sure all our team-members are healthy".

The pinkette smiled softly. "I'm sorry for leaving everything up to you guys to take care of earlier today" She apologized, "I'm sure the interviewers weren't too happy". Kukai just waved it off, unable to talk at the moment with a mouth full of food.

"You didn't do that bad today..." Ikuto commented, "I'm amazed your clumsiness didn't kick in and set the place on fire, Amu". The pinkette merely stuck her tongue out at him in response to the last comment he made.

Tadase's eyebrows slanted downwards. "Amu? Why did you call him that?".

Amu's eyes widened, remembering that only Ikuto was the one who knew she was a girl, and what her real name was.

"It's my nickname for him. Is there a problem?" Ikuto said calmly while arching an eyebrow at Tadase, who just smiled and shook his head. He then stood up, walking over to the barbeque and turning it off, returning to the table with a plate full of baked potatos, freshly cooked.

"Waah, mineral water!" Kukai exclaimed, reaching across the table to grab Ikuto's water bottle. "Remember when I had to do a commercial for this?" he asked eagerly. He then got into the same pose he had to be in for the commercial, hand on chin with his other arm across his chest, holding the bottle of water.

"'What I want in a girl is clear skin, and what's easier to accomplish blemish-free skin than simply drinking mineral water?'" Kukai said, quoting his commercial as he brought the bottle up to his lips. After taking a drink, he wiped his mouth seductively. "'_Nothing_ is easier'".

"That's so cheesy!" Amu laughed as Ikuto took his bottle of water away from Kukai.

"They actually put that on TV?"

Kukai nodded with a bright smile. "Yup!" The brunette's emerald eyes suddenly widened as he remembered something. "But, a commercial Ikuto filmed was even better!" he then nudged Ikuto in the side, grinning widely, "Remember that? I should show you it, Amuto!".

Ikuto's eyes widened ever so slightly for a brief second, then returned to normal. "There wouldn't be a copy of a commercial so old" he drawled lazily.

Kukai cackled evilly under his breath. "I kept a copy" he sniggered before running into the house with Amu being pulled behind him.

Tadase bit his lip as he snuck a glance in Ikuto's direction, watching him clench his jaw tightly. "...He's just joking" the blue-haired boy reassured to no one in particular.

Tadase chuckled nervously, "No, he's not . . . I've even seen the copy of it" he confessed.

Ikuto's eyes widened as soon as a certain song began playing, coming from Kukai's room upstairs. The song that was played at the beginning of the embarrassing commercial Ikuto had filmed a few years ago.

"Kukai, turn it off!" he yelled while running into the house.

Amu plopped herself onto the floor in front of the TV in Kukai's room, while he sat next to her, quickly fast-forwarding to the part where Ikuto came in.

The first part of the commercial had police officers running around in the night, gun shots echoing off the tall buildings. A car squealed to a stop, and out stepped a female officer, hair up in a high pony tail, wearing a black skirt, knee-high boots, and the police shirt and hat.

"Now, boys, don't be so dangerous" she said in a voice that even made Amu nearly blush. "Be safe. Use a condom" the lady said with a smile, turning her attention away from her 'dangerous' fellow police-officers, and looking over at the camera while holding up a pack of condoms.

Amu burst out laughing with Kukai at how random that was. "Did you see him?" Kukai asked eagerly.

Amu shook her head, finally being able to catch her breath.

Kukai's jaw nearly dropped. "How could you _not_ see him?"

"Kukai, I'm going to kill you!" Ikuto yelled from the bottom of the stairs as he continued to hunt the brunette down. Kukai quickly re-winded the disc, stopping at the part where the young lady stepped out of the vehicle.

Amu unconsciously squinted her eyes to get a better look at the girl.

Holy frick.

That wasn't a girl, it was Ikuto.

And the laughing started again with Amu and Kukai.

"He had to wear a wig, a bra and even those high-heeled boots and skirt!" he laughed.

Ikuto stood in the doorway of the room, eyes twinkling dangerously as the wind seemed to pick up, twirling around him in a mixture of fire and death. "Turn it off" he said quietly, making the brunette flinch.

In an instant, Ikuto sprinted over to the boy, who moved just as quick to get away from him. Tadase chuckled, crossing his arms as he stood next to Amu, Kukai soon joining them with a smile on his face.

Amu sputtered out another laugh, making Ikuto glare at her.

"Amuto, can you come down here?" Nikaidou's voice called from downstairs, giving Amu an excuse to run away from Ikuto.

Grasping this opportunity, Amu catapolted out of the room. "What is it?" she asked, jumping down the stairs, stopping in front of Nikaidou and a young girl with long red hair. "Amuto-kun!" she exclaimed, wrapping her thin arms around Amu's neck.

The pinkette sent a questioning look in Nikaidou's direction as she slowly hugged the girl back. "This is your second cousin, Yamabuki Saaya" he explained. "She's the one that sent you the picture, and told me about your mom".

"S-second . . . cousin?" Amu repeated. Was her second cousin really the closest family she had left?

"She's been living in foster care for a few months now, but the family's house is having renovations done, so I invited her to live with us for a few days" Nikaidou explained with a smile, thinking he was doing Amu a favor.

Saaya finally unlatched herself from Amu, bowing quickly. "Nice to meet you, cousin-san!".

* * *

The ticking clock was beginning to annoy Amu. It was the only noise audible in the huge house. She sat beside Nikaidou on the couch in the living room, while Ikuto, Tadase, and Kukai remained standing with Tsukasa, and Saaya sat on one of the other couches in the room.

"Well, since Saaya-san will be staying in Amuto's room, we still need to figure out where Amuto will be staying" Tsukasa repeated, eying the three boys standing up. "Ah, Kukai, what about in your room with you? That'd work out good, I think!".

Kukai's heart felt like it stopped then and there. He wouldn't dare let someone he thought was gay stay in his room with him. Especially since he was trying his hardest not to have feelings for Amu, since they were both guys and all.

"N-no! I can't, sorry, but no!"

Amu almost breathed a sigh of relief. It would be too weird with Kukai.

"Well, Amuto, it should be someone you're comfortable with. So, _you_ choose" Tsukasa announced with a heart-warming smile.

Amu glanced up at Tadase, then to Kukai, and her eyes stopped on Ikuto. He knew she was a girl, so she wouldn't have to hide anything while with him.

Ikuto caught her looking at him, and mouthed 'You're dead' which made Amu look back to the ground. "Well... if I had to choose who I was most comfortable with, it'd be . . ." she quickly lifted her hand, pointing straight at Ikuto.

Ikuto immediately looked over at Tsukasa, shaking his head. "Absolutely not. I can't share a room with a gir- another guy" he said, quickly correcting himself.

"Oh, come on, Ikuto! You're all friends, so why should it matter?" Tsukasa asked with a slight pout. Ikuto remained stubborn.

Tsukasa sighed, then got an idea as he sat beside Amu, patting her shoulder. "You can stay with me, then! We can work out together, and even go to the sauna and scrub each others backs! Just like a family!" he announced, thinking it was a great idea.

Amu's eyes widened as panic built up in her. Her eyes immediately darted back over to Ikuto. "Ikuto" she whimpered, eyes pleading for him to reconsider.

He cringed, eyes closing as if he was in pain, clenching his jaw tightly. "No... Amu stays … my room" he spoke like he was chewing something disgusting.

"Amu? Nice nickname for him!" Tsukasa commented, "See? You're so close that you even have nicknames for each other! You two will be fine sharing a room".

* * *

_Or it would be very awkward . . .  
_

Amu thought to herself while dragging her suitcase out of her bedroom, arms full with blankets and pillows. Now that she thought of it, of course it would be weird to share a room with a guy. But, then again, this was Ikuto, not someone crazily perverted.

She could feel the device in her pocket press into her skin, reminding her that it was there. Nikaidou had secretly handed it to her after it was settled that she'd be staying with Ikuto. And what exactly was this device? A small taser. Just in case a certain boy went out of sorts.

"Hey, Ikuto!" Amu greeted, stumbling into Ikuto's room.

He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow, "Why're you so happy?" he questioned from his seat behind his desk. Amu noticed he was already in his pajamas, consisting of plaid pants and a black t-shirt.

"I don't know... warm hearts and generosity just runs in the family" Amu stated with a small shrug.

"You sure it's not shortness and flat chests?" Ikuto asked with a smirk.

The pinkette scoffed quietly as she placed her suitcase to the side and rolled the blankets out on the floor beside the bed. Her suitcase was originally packed to leave this place for good, but since Saaya had arrived and all, Nikaidou begged Ikuto to let Amu stay a little longer.

"Instead of you leaving, you're... closer than ever" the blue-head muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Amu to hear.

She pushed the comment aside and crawled under the blankets, not minding that she had to sleep on the floor. Ikuto walked over to her, crossing his arms as he watched her closely.

"Why're you there?" he asked.

Amu looked up at him, then smiled. "'Cause it'd be weird sharing the bed with you, so I'm lying here".

Ikuto shook his head, smirking slightly. "That's not what I meant. You're sleeping down there" he stated, pointing to the other side of the room, where there was a small, empty floor space beside his desk.

"...Oh" Amu replied, crawling out from under the blankets and dragging them across the room.

"Even if she's dressed like that, she's still a girl. Why'd she want to sleep right next to a guy's bed?" Ikuto asked himself, rolling under his blankets "So weird".

"Ah! I'll turn off the lights!"

"I sleep better with them on" Ikuto said, closing his eyes and lying on his back.

"...I sleep better with them off..." Amu said quietly, but Ikuto heard perfectly and opened his eyes, giving her 'the look' which made her shut up and smile innocently. "I'll be fine! Goodnight!" she said quickly, turning so her back was towards him.

He smirked, loving how one of his evil looks could completely change someone's mind. His eyes closed once more, not taking too long for him to fall asleep.

Meanwhile, Amu was tossing and turning. She experimented with her pillow, placing it over her face to block out the light, but she just found herself suffocating and decided that wasn't such a good idea after all.

After almost an hour of struggling, Amu finally looked up over at Ikuto, seeing him fast asleep.

She slowly crawled out of her heap of blankets, quietly tip-toeing across the room to Ikuto's bed, where the lamp giving off light was sitting. She turned it off, pausing for a minute to make sure Ikuto would remain asleep. Thankfully he didn't wake up due to the change.

Amu rested her hands on her knees, looking at Ikuto closely. She had seen many sides of him lately that she had never seen before. Like when he had helped calm her down when she had first found out about her mom, when he – for once – said that she didn't do too bad at the concert, and also when he was angry/embarrassed about the commercial Kukai showed her.

Amu reached into her pocket, pulling out the taser Nikaidou gave her. She doubted she'd be needing this. Ikuto wasn't that kind of guy, no matter how much of a bad-boy he appeared to be.

She unconsciously found herself smiling while looking at the sleeping boy. He looked so peaceful with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, Amu's heart began beating rapidly once again. Her hand instantly flew up to her chest, feeling the heartbeat underneath her fingers. "God, what is this?" she asked, beginning to hold her hands together to start praying.

But, once she clamped her hands together, she accidentally touched the button on the taser she was still holding, sending the jolts of electricity throughout her body.

Amu's knees gave way, making her fall on top of Ikuto as she went into unconsciousness.

How would she explain this to Ikuto when he woke up the next morning?


	10. Stupid Mondays

**Ages: Amu - 18, Kukai - 19, Tadase - 20, Ikuto - 21**

Chapter 10  
  
The house was quiet – an ocean's abyss that swallowed anything that dared to make noise, for no one liked the outcome of forcefully waking up young adults. Especially not when they were famous idols who absolutely needed their beauty sleep.

Nikaidou, though, was an airhead, and entered the dead, silent house yawning loudly while allowing his shoes to scuff against the floors noisily without a care in the world.

He nearly tripped over air on his way up the towering staircase, still having to fully wake up. He even amazed himself that he managed to drive over here without getting into an accident.

It was a Monday morning, after all, and no one likes waking up on Mondays.

Rubbing his eyes, Nikaidou slowly opened the door to Ikuto and Amu's room, not wanting to wake Ikuto, or he'd for sure never live to see another day.

"Amu-chan, are you awa-" he stopped short, jaw dropping, with his eyes nearly falling out of their sockets. He was temporarily unable to speak as he gaped at the sight in front of him.

Ikuto was asleep on his back, while Amu was sleeping on top of him, her head resting on his chest, slowly rising with every breath Ikuto took.

Finally, once snapping out of his trance, Nikaidou bolted out of the dark room, closing the door securely behind him. He sat on the ground in fetal position, nearly hallucinating. "They did 'it' under this roof!?" He exclaimed quietly, not feeling mature enough to say the 'S' word.

He then remembered that they were both fully clothed. Usually after doing something like that, they wouldn't have clothes on, now would they?

The man slowly peered back into the room, noticing the stun gun lying on the floor by the bed. He tip-toed quietly over to the bed, snatching the little device and running back out of the room.

He sunk into a couch in the living room, eying the stun gun as if it was a murder suspect. It knew things that no one else did. It had stunned someone just the other night, but the real question was – who was it that got stunned, and why?

Nikaidou's eyebrows slanted downwards, the wrinkles on his forehead bunching tightly together. "Could Ikuto have actually . . . gotten 'feisty'?" he questioned ever so quietly to himself, eyes staring off into middle space as he pictured what could have happened.

_~*~*~ Yay, yay! Nikaidou's imagination, man! ~*~**_

_Amu sat on the bed, moving a little further away from Ikuto as he looked at her with an unreadable expression, making her extremely uncomfortable. He grabbed onto her shoulders, spinning her around to face him._

"Now that we're sharing a room, I'm beginning to see you as a woman!" he said ferociously, flashing his sexy smirk.

Amu pulled away from him, pouting cutely. "Why are you acting like this?" she whimpered.

Ikuto caressed her cheeks, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him, pressing his lips against hers. He decided to make it a real kiss, not the lousy kind where you just lightly touch lips. Oh, no, this was not one of those kisses at all. This one included some tongue action.

He suddenly pinned her to the bed, breathing in her ear. "You're cute when you play 'hard to get'" he whispered seductively.

"You animal!" Amu yelled while pushing him off of her, pressing the taser to his neck. He fell unconscious, lying on his back.

Amu looked over at him, then dramatically fainted, landing on his chest.

_Ta-da! And that's how it happened!_

_*~*~ Yay, yay! Nikaidou's imagination is done!*~*~_

Nikaidou shook his head at his own outrageous thoughts. There was no way Ikuto would be that crazy . . . even if he was a twenty-one year old. And also, Amu wouldn't faint on him, she would most likely run away.

The man's eyes immediately widened. "What if Ikuto wasn't the one . . . but, maybe Amu-chan was!" he suddenly proclaimed, getting his mind ready to think again.

_~*~*~ Yay, yay! Nikaidou's imagination, again! ~*~**_

_Amu ran her hand down Ikuto's chest, biting her bottom lip as she watched him with lust-filled eyes that seemed to see right through him._

He nervously moved away from her, folding his hands in his lap and refusing to look at her. "Now that we're sharing a room, I'm beginning to see you like a man!" Amu proclaimed, running her hands through her hair as seductively as she could.

"Wh-why are you being this way?" Ikuto demanded in a small voice. Amu smiled, crawling across the bed so she was closer to him.

Seeing that he wasn't giving in, she pulled out the taser, pressing it to his skin. Once he was unconscious, the pinkette grinned, lying on top of Ikuto while running her hands along his chest.

"I just want to lie here with you . . . forever".

_*~*~ Yay, yay! Nikaidou's imagination is done!*~*~_

Nikaidou almost hit himself upside the head. That was wrong on so many levels.

Amu would never do a thing like that.

He looked back down at the stun gun in his hand, wanting it to temporarily be able to speak so he could ask it who it was that got stunned.

Meanwhile . . .

Amu literally fell off of Ikuto, sliding to the floor with watery eyes and the feeling of electricity buzzing throughout her insides. She shook her head quickly a few times, trying to make everything clearer, but failed miserably and tried to make her eyes less watery instead.

"Why aren't you awake ye- Oh, Amuto, my dear cousin! Good morning!" Saaya greeted cheerfully while hopping over to Amu, who was still sitting on the floor in a daze. "You're so cuuute! Go eat breakfast, I made it especially for you!" Saaya urged.

She then seemed to notice Ikuto there, still sleeping. With a small 'Hoo, hoo, hoo' kind of laugh under her breath, she leaned closer to the boy, a smile on her face.

"Isn't he the leader? He should be the first one awake!" Saaya commented, glancing over her shoulder at Amu. The red-head looked back at Ikuto, grabbing hold of the blanket and pulling it off of him.

Ikuto just muttered a few things under his breath and turned on his side so that his back was facing Saaya.

Her eyes soon wandered down to his bottom, when she said, "Don't tempt me, boy" then squeezed it, making Ikuto's eyes instantly open, fully awake now, and feeling deadly.

"Breakfast is ready!" she chirped to him, running out of the room with Amu before Ikuto got the chance to shove her in a blender.

Before Amu made it to the breakfast table, Nikaidou had dragged her outside to the sun-deck, where he demanded for her to tell him the truth about what had happened last night. He gave a small chuckle of relief after she had told him, then began to wonder why he was even worried in the first place.

"Hey, Nikaidou-san . . . why do I feel . . . weird?" Amu asked groggily, following Nikaidou into the house slowly, having to drag her feet.

The man laughed nervously. "It's probably from the stun-gun . . . it should go away soon . . ."

Amu passed by the table, not feeling hungry enough to eat, and dropped onto the couch, smooshing her face into the cushions. She just wanted to lie there all day, staying in her pajamas and never leaving the house.

"Did you have a good sleep last night?" Tadase asked with a smile as he entered the room.

Amu simply gave him a thumbs up, making the blonde laugh quietly and kneel down next to her. "It was fine even though you were with Ikuto?".

This time Amu looked up at him, smiled, then nodded before lying her head back down.

Tadase backed away from Amu, quite aware that Ikuto's gaze was on him.

Ikuto made sure Tadase was sitting at the table in the other room before he walked over to the living room, sitting on the couch next to Amu. "Seems like you and Tadase _are_ close. Why don't you stay in _his_ room?" he asked with a slight bitter edge to his voice before downing the rest of his water.

Amu quickly looked up, not wanting Ikuto to already be kicking her out. "N-no way! Tadase-kun's a guy!" she exclaimed quietly, sending a glance in the kitchen's direction to make sure no one could hear their conversation.

She then looked back at Ikuto, seeing his eyebrow raised at her. It was then that she realized what she had just said. "O-oh wait . . . y-you're a guy too . . ." she stuttered.

"Ah, that's right" Ikuto commented. "And since we're both guys, we didn't have any problems sharing the same room".

Amu nodded quickly, not trusting her voice enough to let it speak, knowing she'd end up embarrassing herself. "A-anyway, I should go get ready for the day . . . bye" she said quickly before jumping off of the couch and hurrying out of the room.

"'You're a guy too'?" Ikuto repeated with a scoff. It was amazing how someone like Amu could forget that important detail. "Come to think of it . . . I _did_ have a great sleep . . ." he wondered aloud, then quickly shook his head, not allowing himself to think that the reason might've been because Amu was sharing the room with him. 'Cause really, how would having her there make him sleep better?

"No, it was probably because yesterday's concert tired me out" he figured.

Clapping his hands loudly, Nikaidou entered the room, trying to get Ikuto's attention. "What?" Ikuto asked through clenched teeth, not appreciating noise so early on a stupid Monday morning.

"Sorry . . . um, well, you have to be ready to go to the hospital in . . . well, now" Nikaidou stated after looking at his watch.

Ikuto raised his eyebrows while looking at the timid man. "Hospital?" he repeated.

* * *

The smell of medicine, bandages, toilet cleaner and old people wafted underneath Ikuto's nose, making him cringe in disgust. "Right . . . forgot about this" he muttered, staring down the bright, empty, hospital hallway.

It was too bright, with a horror-movie kind of look to it including the eerie shadows on the walls.

"What are we doing here?" Amu asked, looking over at Ikuto and Nikaidou.

"Tadase and Ikuto are filming a commercial here" Kukai replied while throwing his arm around Amu's shoulder as he gave her a thumbs up.

"Oh . . . so, why are _we_ here?" Amu asked slowly.

"To watch, of course! It's entertaining beyond belief!" Kukai replied.

Ikuto glared at Kukai. He still hadn't forgiven the stupid brunette for showing Amu his first commercial. The blue-head nearly shuddered just thinking about it. He must've been on _something_ that day in order to accept dressing up as a girl.

"Okay, Ikuto and Tadase, you need to be in that room right now, getting changed" Nikaidou stated, pointing to a door a few feet away.

"See you in a few minutes!" Tadase said as he walked away with Ikuto already way ahead of him.

Amu's lips formed into a thin line as she furrowed her eyebrows, looking over at Nikaidou. "What do they have to wear?". Nikaidou laughed evilly under his breath. "You're going to have to see".

Amu got the feeling that Nikaidou was one of the people involved in choosing the outfits, and must've recommended something full of revenge for something Ikuto had done to him in the past.

"Well . . . it's a commercial to help spread awareness to people about the consequences of drinking and driving, so they're probably going to be in full-body casts or something" Kukai commented with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Not quite . . . but, the best part of this plan is that they're going to be filming all day – meaning, not being able to change back to normal until the day is over" he then cackled again. Kukai and Amu glanced at each other, having no idea what was so funny.

"Oh, _hell_ no!" Ikuto snapped, being pushed out of the room sitting in a wheelchair, wearing hospital clothes and casts on his legs, disabling him from moving them at all.

Yukari was pretty much gasping for air as she walked up to Nikaidou. "Changing that boy is hard enough _without_ having to rush! Why did you get here so late?!" she exclaimed, hitting the man over the head with a newspaper.

"Oh, Ikuto, it's not that bad" Tadase chuckled, also sitting in a wheelchair being pushed by a nurse. "Easy for you to say. It's only your arms that are in casts, so at least you can still walk" Ikuto muttered.

His eyes softened once hearing a small giggle, looking over at Amu, who was trying to muffle her laughter. "I'm sorry! It's just weird seeing you look this vulnerable!" she admitted.

He found it hard to tear his eyes off of her, but once he did, Ikuto rolled his eyes, blaming the stupid hospital smell for his weird behavior.

"Alright, guys! Let's film the first scene!" The director announced, showing up out of nowhere and beginning to lead the way into a nearby room. Amu followed in after Kukai, looking around the purely white room.

She had never liked hospitals. It always reminded her of dying people. Not to mention every single room had absolutely no color to it. Really, were they _trying _to kill people faster with the boring rooms?!

Ikuto suddenly snapped his fingers to get Amu's attention. "Hey, servant. Come here".

The girl scoffed quietly, wondering when it was that she had become his servant. "What is it?" she asked once standing in front of him, holding back a laugh as she towered over him sitting in his wheelchair.

He simply stuck out his hand.

To say that Amu was confused to be an understatement. What did he want, a handshake?

She then noticed Kukai helping Tadase into the hospital bed beside Ikuto's, and that's when she realized what she needed to do. "Right . . . " she said under her breath, one hand holding Ikuto's, and the other holding his arm.

It was when he leaned on her for support that her heart started thumping loudly once again.

Maybe there was still some electricity from the taser inside her after all.

* * *

Kate: Yeah . . . lame chapter, I'm sorry. You have no idea how much homework I have tonight, all due tomorrow, including two tests that I just found out about today, that are also tomorrow. GAY-ASS-SCHOOL. TT_TT Ima die here . . .


	11. The Alert Reporter

**Chapter 11**

Fleece blankets suck. They don't provide any heat whatsoever, so _why _are they the only blankets Ikuto had with him in his piece-of-crap hospital bed?

"Stop being so picky" Tadase laughed light-heartedly. "This is the last scene, then we'll be done".

Ikuto bit his tongue to prevent him from saying something he knew he'd regret later on and lay back against his pillow.

"Get back into positions, please" The director called from his chair behind the cameras. Sighing, Ikuto pushed himself up, wincing as his leg muscles got pulled. He had to lie with his legs propped up on this weird thing hanging from the ceiling, making it impossible for him to move them, seeing as how the casts around them prevented him from being able to even bend them.

Tadase tried to lie on his side the best he could without the help of his immobile arms, getting in position and preparing for the director to call 'action'. The director took a quick look to make sure they were in position before giving the signal for them to start.

Tadase squirmed to sit up, exhaling loudly as he glanced at the digital clock sitting beside him.

He slid off his bed, wincing at the coldness of the floor. After looking over at Ikuto, who was lazily reading a book, Tadase wandered over to the washroom while trying to pull the washroom key from out of his pocket. Apparently people would try to sneak into hospital rooms just to use the toilet, so each patient had a key with them in order to use their own washroom.

Seeing as how he couldn't move his broken arms very well, he sighed and looked over at Ikuto. "Could I get some help?" he asked with a slight laugh.

Ikuto looked up from his book, then looked pointingly down at his legs. "Do you really think I can get over there?" he asked skeptically.

"Cut!" The director exclaimed while removing his headphones. "And that's a rap! Good job, everyone. If you want to see what the finished result of the commercial will be, stick around for a few hours".

A scoff, sputter, then another scoff was heard from Ikuto as he struggled to get his legs to move. "Stupid, son of a b-" he stopped short once Amu effortlessly helped him out. In seconds, he was back in his wheelchair, pushing himself around the room.

"I bet I can beat you" Tadase commented in a light tone. He pushed off the cold tiles on the ground, moving his wheelchair over to the blue-haired male, ready to compete. Ikuto smirked faintly at the blonde, instantly knowing what he meant. "You're on".

The two 'crippled' boys went out to the hallway, positioning themselves so they were facing the long runway ahead of them. "Wait a minute . . . how will Tadase race without his arms to push him . . . ?" Amu asked slowly as she and Kukai followed the boys into the hall.

Tadase frowned slightly while looking down at his arms. "Right. . . . . Hey, Amuto! Take a seat. You can help me!" he announced. Ikuto looked dangerously at Tadase, pushing the wheels on his chair to make him roll over to Amu, then pulled her onto his lap.

"He's my servant, not yours. You can have Kukai, that way it's a fair battle".

Kukai gave a sideways glance in Tadase's direction. "It's weird sitting on a guy's lap . . . but if that's a challenge, then I'll do it!" he awkwardly sat on the blonde's legs, grabbing onto the wheels at the side of his seat.

"On your mark . . ."

"Get set . . ."

"GO!"

They all belted out warrior cries on their way down the deserted hallway. Luckily, they got one half of the hospital all to themselves in order to film, so they weren't disturbing anyone.

Amu clutched onto Ikuto's neck tightly, yelling as they sped down the hallway quickly. The only thought going through her mind was if they'd be able to stop before they hit the wall. "Ikuto! Slow down!" she yelled.

Kukai groaned, reaching the end of the hallway just after Ikuto. "W-well, I demand a rematch! Go, now!" he yelled, turning around and going the opposite way with Tadase helping push off the ground with his legs.

Amu muffled her laughter as she and Ikuto didn't bother racing again, but sat there watching instead. The pinkette rose a hand to her chest to feel her heartbeat. "Crap, that was scary" she breathed.

Ikuto smiled softly, "You're weird" he commented while purposely messing up Amu's hair. This time, instead of Amu's heartbeat catching her attention, it was also the blush she could feel on her face.

Meanwhile, unknown the them, someone was watching them very closely.

Reporter Kiseki hid behind a bush just outside the window, seeing right into the first floor of the hospital where the A.N. Jell crew was. "Is that . . . Amuto and Ikuto?" he asked himself quietly, failing to see far enough down the hall to identify the two.

He definitely saw pink and blue, though.

"Now, why would two guys be sitting that close to each other . . .?" He questioned, eyebrows slanting downwards and getting his camera out. He snapped a few photos from different angles, wanting desperately to be allowed to go into the hospital without getting thrown out by security.

Kiseki cackled. "Something might be going on between those two. I will find out!" he proclaimed. "Now . . . all I have to do is get into the building".

"Hey, Ikuto, that wasn't fair!" Kukai complained. "We were _both_ suppose to race!".

Amu stood back on her feet, making up an excuse to go talk to Nikaidou.

"I never agreed to a second race" was Ikuto's reply, followed by a smirk.

"But-but...!"

"I'm going to get some water" Ikuto stated before Kukai got the chance to continue his whine. The blue-haired boy laughed silently under his breath while the sound of the brunette's cries drowned out.

Maybe it wasn't so bad to have 'broken' legs. Wheelchairs were handy – and entertaining – things to use. Not to mention, they helped you escape quicker.

Ikuto yawned while stretching out his hand to grab his bottle of water from out the bottom of the drink machine, noticing something out of the corner of his eye. He turned fully to his side, seeing a girl with pink hair and violet eyes walking towards him.

She stopped once seeing him, raising an eyebrow at his handicapped state. "Who would've thought that _the_ Tsukiyomi Ikuto would be in a wheelchair?" she added an amused look to her question.

"Shut up, demon-angel. I'm filming a commercial. What's your excuse of _always_ looking handicapped?" Ikuto retorted.

Hoshina Utau scoffed, folding her arms across her chest as she looked away, pointing her chin in the air. "Oh, little Ikuto-kun, you're cute. And, for your information, my name isn't 'demon-angel' I'm known as the 'angel' throughout Japan. But, I'm sure you already knew that" she said sweetly.

Ikuto smirked, "Mm, yes, I did know that. But, what the rest of Japan _doesn't_ know, is how you're the opposite of an angel when you're not on camera – and what is with that ridiculous pink wig?".

Utau's hands immediately flew up to her pink hair, frowning as she just remembered she was still wearing it. "I'm filming a music video. I'm required to look cuter than usual, so the director figured pink hair would be best" the natural-blonde replied, removing the wig and swinging her hair from side to side.

Ikuto rolled his eyes, beginning to return down the hallway with his water.

"Hey, have fun being crippled!" Utau called after him, smiling in an innocent way that made Ikuto nearly gag.

"Stupid devil" he muttered under his breath before he disappeared around the corner.

Reporter Kiseki jumped out of the garbage can down the hallway, admiring the photos he just took with a proud smile. He was too far away to hear what they were talking about, but he was close enough to identify that the blue-haired person was indeed Ikuto, but the pink-haired girl was actually Utau.

Kiseki smiled proudly to himself, removing a slimy banana peel off of his head. Climbing through a window was definitely worth it, even if he had to hide in a garbage can afterwards. He still got pictures that no one else could. Not to mention, he could now start a new story. He had witnessed Ikuto and Utau sitting together on the wheelchair, and now he had proof that it was them after seeing them talking just moments ago.

"Is this a happy couple I am witnessing?" Kiseki asked with a cackle following shortly after.

"Oh, I do think so"

* * *

The buzzing chatter of the crew seemed to echo through Amu's head as she stared down at her glass of water, eyes glazed over. She couldn't stop thinking about what Nikaidou had said earlier.

Sure, it was a small comment, but she couldn't get it out of her mind no matter how hard she tried.

Even her appetite was gone.

_"Nikaidou-san! Where were you?" Amu asked once Nikaidou had returned to the hospital room. "Oh, sorry, I just had to use the washroom-" he then stopped talking to laugh quietly "-and then I saw something on my way back that caught my attention. Do you want to know what it was?" he asked, nudging Amu in the side._

_She didn't even answer and Nikaidou was already telling her the whole story. "That famous idol, Hoshina Utau, and Ikuto were together. I always knew something would happen between them! But, I can't blame Ikuto for liking her, she's beautiful, don't you think?"._

It didn't take long for someone in a good mood to convert to someone in a bad mood. Though, Amu tried her best not to show it, she must've been failing since Kukai kept glancing over at her. He looked down at her empty plate, frowning. She hadn't eaten anything, even though they were at a buffet. Everyone knew that trips to buffets should never go to waste.

Kukai picked up her empty plate, walking up to the counters full of food, and picking out Amu's favorites. Once getting to the fruit table, he paused for a moment.

What kind of berries did she like? "Ah! Strawberries!" he exclaimed proudly, holding up a fork triumphantly. He had remembered Amu telling him about how strawberries had always been her favorite fruit growing up.

Kukai finished stocking up Amu's plate before returning back to the long table full of people, setting the food down in front of the pinkette. "Eat! I'm sure you'll feel better!" he encouraged before plopping back into the seat next to her, continuing to chow down on his own meal.

"Kukai . . . do guys like pretty girls?" Amu asked quietly, her voice resembling someone half-dead.

The brunette looked back at her, furrowing his eyebrows. "What?"

". . . You like girls who are pretty, right? Amu questioned, trying to learn a guy's perspective on this.

Kukai's eyes widened, quickly swallowing what was in his mouth. "O-of course I like girls! Pretty face, body and personality! I-it's not like I would ever like a boy like you!" he exclaimed quickly.

Being the dense person she was, Amu didn't notice all the stuttering that came out of Kukai when he spoke. "Mm . . . that's true. I'm a boy" she mumbled.

Tsukasa downed his water, placing the glass down while looking across the table at Amu. "I've decided that Amuto, your activities are going to be first" he stated, getting everyone's attention.

Amu raised her eyebrows, "Eh?". Maybe she should've been paying attention to the conversation a little more, instead of being bothered by the news of Ikuto and Utau.

"Before the 6th album comes out, you're going to release your first single. One of the songs Ikuto just wrote is absolutely perfect for you!" Tsukasa announced, unknowingly flicking a piece of meat off of his fork, which attacked Kukai.

Nikaidou chewed on his lip nervously. If Amu got under too much pressure, what would happen? Once releasing the single, she'd be invited to appear on talk shows, do live performances and other things idols are required to do. She'd be a real celebrity. But, the problem is, would she be able to handle it?

After everyone had finished eating, Tadase lingered behind with Amu, who was still in denial. "Are you alright?" the blonde asked softly, holding the door open for her.

She nodded slightly, remaining quiet.

"If you're nervous about everything happening so quickly, don't worry about it. You might even surprise yourself at how brave you can be if you put your mind to it" Tadase comforted with a smile.

Amu looked up at him, trying to smile back. "What if I completely screw up? This is my first time being out of the band, I feel like I'll ruin A.N. Jell's name".

The two walked slowly behind the large gang of people who were talking animatedly, while Amu and Tadase got to enjoy the silence they got while away from the group. "No matter what, I'll still cheer for you, even if no one else will" Tadase reassured, draping an arm across Amu's shoulder as he gave her a thumbs up.

Amu smiled slightly. "Thanks, Tadase-kun". He reminded her of Sister Sakura, the elderly nun who had helped raise her.

It was at this moment that she realized how much she missed the church. She was sick of idol life.

"Hey, is Saint Mary's Cathedral close to here?" she suddenly asked.

* * *

Kukai exhaled loudly, rolling his head back to gaze up at the ceiling.

Boredom had taken over. Not to mention, no one around the house had any ideas of what they could do in order to keep themselves occupied.

"Guys, let's do something!" He complained, looking over at Tadase, who was nearly falling asleep on the couch. Once seeing Ikuto calmly sitting at the kitchen table, Kukai gave up, knowing neither of them wanted to move. Where was Amuto when you needed him?

Suddenly, Nikaidou burst through the front door, out of breath and face red from running. He immediately went over to Ikuto, closing the door to the kitchen so no one else could hear their conversation.

"Sh-she's gone! . . . Amu left to go back to the church she grew up in!" he tried saying with one short breath.

Ikuto looked up from the table, trying not to show the alertness in his dark eyes.

Gone for good?


	12. The Lock and Key

**Chapter 12**

It was almost noon when Nikaidou had officially lost it. Amu had been 'missing' since 8 that morning, which was when Nikaidou had arrived at their house. Once realizing Amu wasn't in her room, he had gone to the studio, and that's when he had found out she left to go to the church she grew up in.

Ikuto, though, couldn't believe that he didn't notice she was gone. Of course he knew that she wasn't at home, but the idea hadn't struck him that for once, she might not be with Nikaidou.

"So, Amuto wasn't there when you woke up?" Nikaidou confirmed once again, covering the mouth piece of his cell phone to talk to Ikuto. The blue-haired boy shook his head and rested his chin in his palm, elbows propped up on the cold dining room table.

Nikaidou insulted no one in particular as he dropped his phone back in his pocket, announcing that Amu still wasn't answering his calls.

Kukai frowned, eyebrows creasing together and turning around to look at the two guys in the kitchen. "This isn't something Amuto would do. He'll be back soon, don't worry about it" he commented with a care-free wave of his hand. He then rolled back around on the couch so he was facing the TV, forgetting all his worries while concentrating on the murder mystery that was playing before him.

Nikaidou inhaled and exhaled deeply while closing his eyes, sinking into a nearby chair and trying to calm his nerves. Kukai was right. Amu would be back. She wasn't the kind of person to leave others behind to take care of everything for her.

The middle-aged mans eyes sluggishly opened once again as a different thought came to mind. What if something had upset her, forcing her to run away from this place? Quickly shaking the thought aside, he helped himself to an apple in hopes of getting his mind off of Amu for once.

"Hey, where did Tadase go?" Kukai suddenly asked, breaking the tense silence.

Nikaidou looked up from the floor, glancing around the room with an uninterested expression. With a shrug, he replied, "I don't know". Quite frankly, he didn't care either. The real question was – where did _Amu_ go? Sure, Nikaidou already knew that she went to her church. But, the thing he didn't know, was what church that was.

He used to have directions to it, but that was back when he had first met Amu. Being the airhead he is, though, he lost the paper with the directions, and had no idea what the church was even called.

Ikuto suddenly stood up from his seat at the table, shoving his hands in his pockets while wandering out of the room and stepping out onto the sun-deck, enjoying the warm, afternoon breeze.

At that moment, his eyebrows furrowed, the only thought in his mind was: Where _did _Tadase go?

"Ah! Ikuto, there you are!"

Ikuto shifted to the side slightly, peering down the steps at Tsukasa.

"I have some great news for you!" The blond man announced with an eager clap of his hands while he climbed up the steps, stopping in front of Ikuto. "A famous singer wants you to remake one of her songs!".

The blue-haired boy arched an eyebrow. "'Remake'?"

"Yeah. You know, sing it and include it on one of your CDs and perform it in concerts. All that jazz!" Tsukasa remarked with a proud smile.

Ikuto shrugged lazily, not finding it such a terrible idea. "What singer?" he asked before inhaling the fresh-air smell that lingered in the afternoon air.

"Eh . . . what was her na- Ah! Souko!" Tsukasa replied.

The sound of that name made Ikuto's calm state completely shatter. He could no longer enjoy the fresh air, not with that name ringing in his head. Unconsciously his hands balled into fists as he said through gritted teeth, "No, I'm not singing any of _her _songs".

"But, Iku-"

"I have to be somewhere" Ikuto stated quickly while brushing past Tsukasa and climbing into his car, tires squealing as he sped down the driveway.

_Anyone but her._

* * *

Tadase wandered down the busy streets of Tokyo, still being able to see the beautiful weather, even through his thick sunglasses used to hide his identity.

It was always a hassle to be out in public these days. Everyone could recognize him instantly if he didn't wear a disguise. But, he had to admit, most disguises made it look obvious that he was trying to hide, which didn't help at all.

He shifted his baseball cap while looking to his side, at the girl wearing a long pink wig, her honey-colored eyes also concealed by sunglasses. "You don't look too bad as a girl" Tadase commented with a chuckle. "If I didn't know you were actually a boy and I had just met you, I'd be convinced".

Amu breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good. I don't want to be recognized right now" she admitted with a small smile. What she had just said was definitely the truth. It was refreshing to finally be let out of the house. The feeling resembled being a dog on a leash for so long, but, at last she was able to roam free.

"So, how was the church, and Sister Sakura?" Tadase asked, hands in pockets as he walked through the sea of people with Amu at his side.

"The church was good. Nothing really different about it" Amu replied with a nod. "And Sister Sakura is doing great. It was so nice to see her again".

Tadase hummed as he nodded in understanding. Sakura must've felt like a second mom to Amu, seeing as how Amu had been raised by her.

Before he had the chance to ask something else, the phone in Tadase's pocket vibrated, indicating he had a new text message.

_Where are you?_It was from Ikuto. Tadase glanced to his side at Amu, then figured Ikuto probably didn't even suspect that they were together, so it'd be fine to tell him his location.

_I'm by that ice cream shop you like so much._Even after waiting a few minutes, Ikuto still didn't reply, so Tadase just shrugged it off. If it was important, Ikuto would've responded.

"Waah! That looks good!" Amu exclaimed under her breath, looking over at a banana split poster displayed in an ice-cream parlor's window. The blonde looked over at the pinkette, smiling at her.

"Wait right here" he advised before walking into the air-conditioned, 80's style ice-cream shop.

Just moments after Tadase had left, a car screeched to a halt beside Amu, and out climbed Ikuto, who froze once seeing her. It was clear that he wasn't expecting her to be there. "Amu...?"

She blushed lightly under his gaze, remembering she was wearing girl clothes and currently had long hair – thanks to her wig. "...Hi" she replied gingerly.

The boy breathed a soft sigh of relief, thankful that Amu wasn't gone for good, that way Nikaidou could calm down. "Hop in, Nikaidou's going nuts" Ikuto stated, getting back into his car.

Amu nodded, hurriedly hopping in the passenger seat, completely forgetting about Tadase. But, good thing Ikuto didn't forget, and sent him another text message.

_Amu's with me._

* * *

The girl tried not to smile as they drove down the streets. Out of habit, she began playing with the necklace around her neck, resulting in pulling off the small heart that was dangling off of the chain. "Ahh, crap" she muttered, looking at the heart resting in her palm.

Ikuto looked over at her out of the corner of his eye, not wanting to look away from the road. "Did it break?" he asked while pulling to a stop in a parking lot.

"Yeah . . . oh well" Amu replied with a sigh, dropping the chain and the heart in her bag.

"We can get you some different clothes here" Ikuto commented, gesturing to the shop he had parked in front of. There was no way Amu could return home looking like that, or her secret would definitely be revealed. She had to get a change of clothes – boy clothes.

"Okay" Amu replied with a nod as she climbed out of the car, looking around while placing her sunglasses on. Ikuto trailed further behind as a small stand caught his attention.

"I'll be there in a minute" he said to Amu so she could start shopping already.

Ikuto walked up to the stand at the side of the road, looking around at all the jewelry that was displayed. He felt bad that Amu's necklace broke. Even if she acted like it was an insignificant thing, he knew most jewelry that girls had usually meant something to them.

After scanning the cart a few times, his eyes fell on a necklace that instantly caught his interest. Correction: _two _necklaces. One had a lock dangling off of a chain, and the other had a key.

He handed the lady the money and walked into the clothing store, stuffing the small bag with the necklaces into his pocket so they were out of sight.

It didn't take long for Ikuto to spot Amu. No one else on the planet had pink hair.

"Boo" he breathed in her ear, making her flinch and let out a squeak as she jumped to the side, dropping the shirt she was holding. "Don't do that!" she hissed, but Ikuto saw the blush on her face and felt satisfied.

That is, until he saw the shirt she was holding. "Ew. No" he stated, taking the shirt and putting it back on the shelf. "You need something more ... well, one that doesn't look like something an old man would wear" he commented with a smirk.

Amu scoffed quietly. "That shirt didn't look like an old man's shirt!" she defended.

Ikuto didn't respond to that, but continued scanning the shelves. It wasn't long until they were just making fun of each other, saying which shirts suited them and which didn't, according to their personalities.

"I don't know" Amu said in as serious a voice as she could, keeping her voice down so as not to disturb any other shoppers. "I think it's really _you_". But she couldn't keep herself from exploding into giggles at the end.

Ikuto glared at her, pulling off the jacket Amu had somehow got onto him.

Amu snickered and turned away from him, toward a rack of shirts, hoping to find one that would go good with the shoes and jeans Ikuto had found for her.

That's when she saw it. It practically _gleamed _in its awfulness. It was a nubby and royal blue. Leopard-print fringe danced from the sleeves. It was a half-cape, half-coat.

"Who would wear that?" Amu asked in disbelief.

Ikuto walked over to where she was, also taking a look at the jacket. "Better yet, who would _design _that?".

After what felt like hours to Ikuto, they finally got everything they needed, Amu changed out of her girl clothes, and they headed back home. For the entire drive, Amu couldn't stop admiring the lock necklace dangling from around her neck. It was definitely much better than the heart one. Not only was this one prettier and unique, but it was given to her by Ikuto – and that was the best part.

* * *

Ikuto sauntered into the studio behind Amu, dropping into a soft, leather chair with a water bottle in his hands, re-hydrating himself after a long day.

Hey, congrats!" Kukai exclaimed from the other end of the room, flashing his goofy grin. Ikuto raised an eyebrow as he placed his water down. "Wh-"

"Ikuto, you sly dog! Why didn't you tell us before?" Tsukasa asked with a laugh as he entered the room slightly out of breath. He must have been jogging.

"Tell you what?" Ikuto asked, looking at the brunette, then back to Tsukasa.

"That you're dating Hoshina Utau!" Kukai replied with a roll of his eyes, acting as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What? That devi-"

"Honey, I know we were suppose to tell them together, but I just couldn't help it! And plus, the article would be released soon with the pictures of us in the hospital . . . so, might as well tell them now!" A sickly sweet voice said before Utau revealed herself, stepping into the room with a smile, eyes nearly burning holes through Ikuto's skull.

She walked over to him, sitting in the chair beside him and continuing to smile, "I confessed to the tabloids that it _is _true that we're dating. I hope you don't get mad" she said, pouting in a way she thought was cute.

"What!?"

Amu's heart nearly stopped then and there, Nikaidou's jaw dropped, and Kukai just grinned like an idiot along with Tsukasa.

"You're dating!?"

* * *

Really, I am so disappointed in this chapter . . . ugh. I'm sorry. From the bottom of my heart I am truly sorry at how terrible this chapter is! Not interesting at all! I'll try to make it up to you guys! If there are any mistakes, please let me know!


	13. Things I'll Never Say

**Chapter 13**

Grip tightening, his pale fingers crushed yet another pencil as his brain swarmed with thoughts of hatred. How did he get himself into this dilemma?

Flashback

_Utau smiled smugly after Ikuto shut the door to the closed-off room they were in. Her plan had worked, and now everyone thought they were dating._

_"What the hell was that?" Ikuto asked, trying to keep his voice down, when really, he just wanted to strangle the dumb blonde. Utau continued smiling as she took a seat, folding her hands in her lap._

_"We now have to act as though we are dating. Only I can end this, and that's by dumping you. Got it?"._

_Ikuto laughed humorlessly as he turned to the door, ready to leave. "Forget it"_

_Utau slowly stood up and walked over to him. "I had a feeling you'd say that. Darn." She said with a dramatic sigh "Then I guess Amuto's secret will be exposed". She then walked ahead of Ikuto, acting as if she was going to be leaving first._

_This statement caught the boy's attention. Utau couldn't possibly know that Amu's a girl . . . could she? "What are you talking about?" Ikuto questioned, trying not to sound too interested._

_Utau turned back around to look at him with the same not-so-innocent smile plastered on her face, "Well, earlier today, I just so happened to be talking with Yukari-san – such a sweet person, anyway, and I accidentally told her that I was dating you. So, she felt like she could tell me all of your secrets – including all the band member's secrets. Then, the topic somehow got around to Amuto actually being a girl. Now, wouldn't it be terrible if I told the press about that?"._

_Ikuto unconsciously gritted his teeth together, balling his hands into fists. Utau noticed this and chuckled. "So, I'm guessing you're agreeing to this?"_

_"What's in it for you?"_

_"Oh, nothing much . . . just that everyone will think I'm dating the hottest idol in Japan. Then, they'll all want to see my new movie that's being released in a few days!" Utau announced proudly, obviously loving this plan she came up with so quickly._

_Sure, this was all for advertisement and popularity, but Utau didn't mind having to pretend to be with Ikuto. He was very good looking, after all._

End of Flashback

Ikuto threw the broken pencil pieces into the trash can before standing out of his chair, grabbing his car keys on his way out the door. He needed to calm down. Maybe visiting with the other band members would help.

* * *

"Okay, try that again, but a little more . . . heartbroken" Tsukasa said politely to Amu, who was in the recording booth. Tsukasa turned on the microphone again, sitting next to Nikaidou and watching Amu sing.

"Think of it this way, Amu-chan: You love someone, but you can't tell them, because you know that they either love another, or that they don't love you in that kind of way" Nikaidou advised.

How ironic.

"Okay, we'll start again near the end of the song".

Kukai then bounced into the studio and eagerly sat in the back of the room while munching on a bag of chips.

Amu's first recording wasn't going too bad, but according to Tsukasa, the song was suppose to be sung by someone who's heart ached because of the things they could never say to the one they loved.

Amu put the headphones back on, waiting for the background music to start playing.

_These words keep slipping away. I stutter, I stumble, like I've got nothing to say. 'Cause I'm feeling nervous, trying to be so perfect, 'cause I know you're worth it._

The pinkette couldn't shake off the feeling of discomfort while singing this song, no matter how hard she tried. Perhaps it was because she could relate to it far too much. She had experienced almost all those emotions while with Ikuto.

___  
Yes, I'm wishing my life away, with these things I'll never say. If I could say what I want to say, I'd say I want to blow you away. Be with you every night. Am I squeezing you too tight? If I could see what I want to see, _I want to see you go down – on one knee. Marry me today. Guess I'm wishing my life away, with these things I'll never say.If it already wasn't hard enough to sing the song, it certainly was when Tadase walked into the room with Ikuto.

_These things I'll never say . . .  
_

Tsukasa instantly smiled and gave Amu a thumbs up just as she finished the song. "Perfect! You captured the heart-broken feeling perfectly!" he commented.

Amu tried to smile at the enthusiastic blonde, but once she looked over at Ikuto, she had to remove her headphones and hurry out of the room. She'd suffocate if she was in there any longer. Especially if _he _was there too.

Amu's heart ached just at the sight of him. There was nothing she could do about her feelings for him, and it hurt even more when she knew that he was with Utau.

Ikuto was happily in a relationship, and Amu didn't want to screw that up by confessing to him.

"What's up with Amuto?" Kukai asked as he finally finished his large bag of chips, standing up from the couch and looking in the direction Amu went.

"I don't know . . ." Nikaidou replied, but Ikuto got the feeling that he _did _know.

Kukai shrugged and followed slowly after Amu as he threw on his warm jacket.

Ikuto pulled Nikaidou out of the room by his collar, closing the door behind him. "What's up with Amu?"

Nikaidou straightened out his shirt, not seeing why Ikuto had to pull on it in order to get him to move. "I think . . . well, I think she likes Tadase" he said in a hushed tone.

Ikuto's eyes widened slightly, but he remained silent. That would explain a lot. That's why just a couple days ago they were out together, when he had found them at the ice cream shop.

The boy looked in the direction of the recording studio, where Tadase was, and murmured. "She . . . likes him?".

* * *

Amu walked down the buzzing streets with her head bent, gazing down at her shoes. The crisp, afternoon breeze was cold, and she was dumb enough to forget her jacket back at the studio.

"Amuto!" Kukai called as he jogged towards her, finally catching up and walking beside her. "Are you hungry?" he asked casually.

Amu gave him a blank stare. He came all this way just to ask that? Then again, as Amu thought of it, she _was _pretty hungry.

"Yes? Good, let's get ramen!" Kukai exclaimed before the pinkette even got the chance to answer. In an instant, she was being pulled behind a fast-running brunette who had far too much energy on a Thursday afternoon.

* * *

"I really can't stop crying!" Amu sobbed as she brushed away her tears quickly. Sitting across the table from her, was Kukai, who also had tears in his eyes.

"I know! This food has ten levels of spiciness, and this is only level 8!" he exclaimed while grabbing a nearby tissue and wiping his teary, emerald eyes.

Amu downed her ice water, exhaling loudly and taking a deep breath. That was some spicy ramen. "We have to fight till the end, Amuto! We can do it!" Kukai cheered just as the waiter set down bowls of level 9 ramen in front of them.

"I accept your challenge, Kukai!" Amu replied, holding her chop-sticks in the air proudly before digging into the ramen. Kukai took a large bite, squeezing his eyes tightly shut as he tried to swallow it, feeling the burning sensation sting his throat.

"It burns!" he whimpered, grabbing for his water, only to see that it was an empty glass. His eyes widened along with Amu as they tried to call the waiter back over to their table before their insides exploded from the spice.

"Water" Amu breathed out weakly, sounding like a half-dead person stranded in the dry desert. "Or just ice" Kukai put in. The waiter chuckled at their demands and was back in an instant with two large glasses of ice water.

Once drinking what they needed in order to cool down their mouths, they ordered the final level of spiciness: Level 10 ramen.

Instant death for a weak person.

"We are warriors!" Kukai cheered as he exited the shop with Amu. They both had ice cream in their hands. What better way to cool down then with ice cream? "I bet if they had a level 12, we'd be able to defeat it" he stated proudly.

Amu nodded in agreement. "Definitely!".

Kukai chuckled while looking over at Amu. "Well, now that I got you to cry your eyes out, it's time for you to laugh! Let's go!" he announced, pulling Amu behind him once again as he took off in a run, sprinting towards the arcade.

* * *

"Ahh today was so fun! Thanks, Kukai!" Amu said with a bright smile as they walked inside the toasty warm house, where a fire was going in the stone fireplace, crackling softly.

The brunette chuckled while falling tiredly onto the couch. "No problem. Now you know where to go when you're upset" he replied as he closed his eyes, ready to sleep at any moment.

Amu also took a seat on a different couch, exhaling loudly once she leaned back against the cushion. Finally, she got to sit down and relax while listening to the grandfather clock ticking. Not that she was complaining about her day – no, not at all. But, it felt good to be able to rest.

At that moment, Nikaidou exited the kitchen and gestured for Amu to join him at the table. So much for resting.

He made sure the door was closed before their conversation started. "I'm glad you had a good time with Kukai" Nikaidou said with a smile after Amu had explained what had happened.

Amu looked down at her hands folded in her lap, trying to hide her guilty expression, knowing Nikaidou would tell her to cheer up. "I'm sorry for running out of the studio earlier today . . ."

Nikaidou smiled and simply waved it off "Don't worry about it. You sang very well. But . . . you really should come up with a way for you to control your feelings . . . " he wondered aloud. "I was thinking about it earlier, and – you know what pressure points are, right?" Once Amu nodded, he continued his speech "-Okay, so, when you can't control your feelings, simply press your nose" he stated, demonstrating to Amu by pushing his nose in a way that made it look like a pig nose.

Amu slowly lifted her finger, pushing on her nose to test it out. "W-wouldn't people find it weird if they see me doing that . . . ?" she asked slowly.

"It _will _look weird, but it works" Nikaidou stated.

Amu nodded slowly as she stood up, out of her chair. "Well, thank you, Nikaidou-san. I'm going to go to bed now".

Even after the girl was out of sight, Nikaidou continued waving anyway, with an all-too innocent smile on his face while he mumbled to himself under his breath. "I can't believe she actually believed me . . . I'm sorry, Amu-chan. But, at least no one will know that you're just trying to control your feelings"

* * *

Amu quietly entered her room, noticing Ikuto sitting at his desk, writing something down with a determined expression on his face. "Come here" he said, not looking up from the sheet of paper as he turned in his chair.

Amu walked up to him, pushing on her nose as her heart-rate increase.

"I've decided to help you with your prob- Ahh!" Ikuto backed away once seeing her nose pushed up, breathing heavily. "Crap that scared me. You look like a pig. I hate pigs" he muttered darkly.

"O-oh . .. it's a pressure point" Amu explained.

"Pressure point? You can't look like a pig, you're a rabbit. Rabbits appear to be small and innocent, but turn around and bite your head off and always get you into trouble" Ikuto said under his breath, peering over his paper at the pinkette.

Amu's eyebrows slanted downwards once he said that. She was a rabbit? And, it didn't matter if she looked like a pig, it was something she had to do. "Okay . . . if it bothers you, I'll stop" she said, beginning to move her hand when Ikuto spoke again.

"I will kill you if you put down your hand" he said darkly.

Amu's hand instantly flew back to her nose in fear.

"Anyway, listen here, piggy-rabbit" Ikuto began, picking up his paper once again and reading off it. "In order for this to work out for you two, you have to tell Tadase that you're a girl".

Amu frowned, "Eh? Why?".

"I heard you like him" Ikuto stated, then showed her the paper in his hand. "Amu, I will hand you over to Tadase, but, there are two different outcomes. First, he'll accept you. This will be good for you, because you can live happily ever after with him, and it'll be good for me, 'cause I can finally get rid of you. But, the alternative outcome is that he rejects you. What you'd have to do is hold tightly onto him, begging him to accept you" Ikuto said, reading off of the paper and not noticing Amu rolling her eyes.

There was no way that she'd like Tadase, why couldn't Ikuto see that? "N-no, Ikuto, you're misunderstanding! It's not like that at all" Amu said hurriedly.

"I know you'll be nervous, but suck it up, princess" Ikuto drawled before handing the girl the paper and spinning around, walking across the room and disappearing into the washroom.

Amu stared blankly down at the paper with a frown. Ikuto had it all wrong, but at least he didn't find out who she _actually _liked.

Sighing, the pink-haired girl dropped down onto her pile of blankets she used for a bed and gazed around the room at all the posters, CD's and funky wall patterns.

She liked Ikuto so much it hurt. Tadase wasn't the one she liked. But, these things she would never say. She groaned and rolled up in her blankets, looking like a burrito as she pulled out her cell phone, sending Ikuto a text message that read:

_Please don't hand me over to Tadase-kun_

Once the message sent, Amu put her phone down and closed her eyes, silently praying that everything would fall into place in the future.

Minutes later, Ikuto exited the washroom, staring down at his phone while reading the message. He then looked over at Amu, who had already fallen asleep in her 'bed' on the floor.

The blue-head sighed tiredly before climbing under his blankets. "Not hand you over? You're so annoying . . . fine, you still belong to me" he muttered, rolling over onto his stomach and burying his face into his pillow.

"Stupid pig-rabbit" _  
_

* * *

**The song used is 'Things I'll never say' by Avril Lavigne. I do not own it.**

**So, hopefully there'll be around . . . heh, 10 - 12 chapers left . . ? Readers, what would you want?  
Do you want me to shorten it, or keep it at that length of chapters that are still on their way? Please let me know!**


	14. Untold Secrets

**Chapter 14**

Wearing a uniform brought back many memories. Though, Amu was always one of the many people wearing skirts instead of the pants she was wearing now.

For once, she found herself wearing a boy's uniform. All throughout high school she had wanted to wear her brother's uniform instead of her revealing skirt. Of course, he never agreed to it. Because, what would he wear then?

Amu loosened her dark tie before nodding in satisfaction and exiting the washroom, wandering through the busy hallways, towards classroom 3-C.

She stifled a yawn before dropping into one of the seats in the room beside Nikaidou, who was enjoying his lunch at the moment. "Why do I have to do this, again?" Amu asked, her chin rested on the desk in front of her as her arms draped lazily at her sides.

Nikaidou swallowed what was in his mouth before answering her question. "It's only natural for your first single to come with a music video! Tsukasa thought that a high school would be the best location" He said before taking another bite of his sandwich. "Mm, but, hopefully not many people will be asking for your autograph" he added with a laugh. "Seeing as how half the extras here are students still".

Amu was too tired to make a comment, but remembered something and had to push away that laziness in order to ask Nikaidou. "Does it seem like I like Tadase-kun?" she asked in a hushed tone so no one else but them could hear.

Nikaidou slowly looked over at her in fear that Ikuto had told her that he was the one who blurted it out. "U-uh . . . well, I personally think so, yes. Why?"

"What makes you say that, though?" Amu asked eagerly as she inched closer to the man.

"Eh . . . well, you're always smiling, laughing, and having a great time when you're with him. I mean, didn't you also go out for a walk around town with him just recently?" Nikaidou pointed out, his voice muffled by the food rolling around in his mouth.

Amu's eyebrows knitted together while staring off into space, a frown on her lips. Maybe it really _did_ look like she liked him. "Crap" she whispered quietly under her breath. She pressed the back of her hands to her flushed cheeks, suddenly dawning on her that others around her most likely mistook her for a gay person.

Not that being gay was a bad thing, it's just she didn't want people to be believing something that wasn't true.

Nikaidou wiped his hands with a napkin after finishing his sandwich, then turned back towards Amu. "Okay, let's review what the music video's about. So, you play a guy who likes another guy – who's Ikuto – but you can't tell him because he is dating someone else and is happy with his relationship. So, you're suffering and blah, blah, blah. It's basically the same as your lyrics for your song. Alright?".

Amu simply nodded in response. What made this whole situation worse, was that Nikaidou had the 'brilliant' idea of making the girl that was dating Ikuto in the music video, to be Utau. He figured since they were dating in real life, they'd bring chemistry into the video with them.

"Alright, everyone! Get into position, please" Tsukasa announced from the front of the classroom, dressed up as a teacher. Yes, he desperately wanted to be in the music video, so he decided he'd be the teacher. Including round glasses to complete the look. "Everyone, make sure to be really focused on your school work. Ah, Ikuto! You'll be looking out the window with a somewhat dazed look on your face. Clearly, you'll be thinking about Utau-chan" he instructed.

Amu could've sworn she heard a small scoff come out of Ikuto, but she shrugged it aside and plopped into the desk next to his.

"Amuto, glance over at Ikuto with the same dazed look on your face" Tsukasa said while making gestures with his rolled up piece of paper.

Amu nodded, then did what she was told. It didn't take much for her to look love-struck while gazing at him.

"Hey, student! Pay attention to your work".

Ikuto looked over at one of the extras Tsukasa was scolding, then noticed the boy continuously looking over his shoulder to see Amu. Glasses were perched on the bridge of his nose and he had green hair that was parted in the middle. Ikuto raised an eyebrow at the boy, then looked back out the window before Tsukasa saw he was out of position.

Once filming the short scene, Tsukasa called cut, but told everyone to stay put while the lighting technicians made a few changes.

Ikuto found himself watching the green-haired boy once again. Like he predicted, the boy was still glancing over his shoulder at Amu every once in a while. Without taking his eyes off of the younger boy, Ikuto nudged Amu in the side to get her attention.

"What?" the pinkette snapped with a wince while rubbing her side where the blue-haired boy had nudged a little too hard.

"That guy over there with the green hair keeps looking at you" Ikuto stated, still not looking away from the boy. Amu was confused at first before she looked in the direction Ikuto was looking. Who would want to watch her all the time?

That's when she saw the side of the boy's face, and immediately recognized him. "Crap!" she whispered quietly, hiding her face with one of Ikuto's books sitting on his desk, used as a prop. "That's Kairi! He used to be my brother's best friend . . . I don't know if they're still close, though".

Amu peered over the top of the book at Kairi, then noticed who was sitting beside him. Immediately the pinkette's hand gripped Ikuto's arm tightly as she froze in a mixture of fear and excitement.

"What is it?" Ikuto asked with a raised brow.

"Th-that person with the purple hair sitting beside Kairi is Nagihiko. He was my best friend all throughout middle and high school. How many people have to be extras!?" Amu hissed through tightly clenched teeth, her fingers continuing to squeeze Ikuto's arm. "Wh-what if he recognizes me and blows my cover? No... no, Nagi isn't that kind of person.... but, what if he's changed over this last year?" Amu panicked to herself, which Ikuto found amusing. He had never seen someone hyperventilate before.

"Lunch break" Tsukasa announced, poking his head in the door, then disappearing just as quickly as he appeared.

In a flash, Amu was out of the room, pulling Ikuto along with her whether he wanted to or not. The girl walked swiftly down the hallway lined with tall lockers and posters, muttering under her breath and occasionally saying something loud enough for Ikuto to hear, so she could get his opinion.

"Why is it so bad to talk to them?" Ikuto drawled in a bored tone once they stepped out into the cool afternoon air. Winter was clearly on its way.  
"B-because, what if Kairi mentions an inside joke he had with Amuto? I wouldn't know what he was talking about, and he'd get suspicious – trust me, he would. He's smart. Also, if I talk to Nagihiko, then he might find out I'm not A-"

"Amuto, is that you?"

Amu's blood ran cold as she paled, her soul flying out of her mouth and up to the clouds. Slowly she turned around and made eye-contact with Kairi, noticing Nagihiko standing at his side. Brilliant.

"Hey, Kairi, Nagihiko" Amu greeted in the best calm, manly voice she could muster at the moment.

Kairi pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose before commenting, "I'm amazed you're actually talking to us. We both figured since you're now a celebrity and all, you'd ignore us".

Amu chuckled softly – the same way her brother always did – before shaking her head. "I would never ignore you guys. But, I _am _a celebrity. That's true" she said in a light, teasing tone.

Nagihiko smiled at Amu. "It's good to see that you haven't changed much". Just the way his eyes seemed to see straight into her soul made Amu shrink away and look down at the leaf-littered ground.

Nagihiko then noticed Ikuto there, and introduced himself, as well as Kairi. After he urged Kairi to talk to Ikuto, Nagihiko stepped aside with Amu, walking down the pathway throughout the school court yard.

He stopped abruptly, turning Amu by the shoulders so he could look her straight in the eyes. "Hello, Amu-chan".

The pink-haired girl couldn't exactly say she was surprised that Nagihiko had found out it was her. He was far too observant for his own good. But, those two words still made Amu's heart feel like it had stopped working.

"H-how did you know it was me?" Amu asked quietly. She knew it'd be useless to act as if she was indeed her brother and that Nagihiko had it all wrong. He wasn't born yesterday. "Does Kairi know, too?".

Nagihiko shook his head, his familiar, polite smile plastered on his gentle face. "No, he doesn't. And, I could tell it was you because I _know _you, Amu" he replied.

Amu instantly hugged him tightly – the first time in a year, but it felt like so much longer. "I missed you" she said quietly. She just wanted to stay like that forever. Having the comforting feeling of a friend nearby was something she had missed. Even if Kukai, Tadase, and Ikuto were there to talk to, it wasn't the same as having a childhood friend to share news with.

"How is everyone doing? Yaya, Rima, and the others?" Amu asked, reluctantly pulling away from her old friend.

"Yaya is . . . well, the same. Still a baby" Nagihiko replied with a soft laugh following shortly after. "And Rima, well . . . nothing much is new with her . . . except, she's my girlfriend-"

"What!? I knew you'd get together eventually!" Amu interrupted. "Aww, tell me everything!".

"Amuto, let's eat before the next scene" Ikuto announced, walking up to the friends with two lunches in his hands. Kairi was following shortly after, _also _carrying two lunches.

Ikuto handed Amu one as he sat on the bench across from her, next to Nagihiko while Kairi sat by Amu. The girl's eyes instantly lightened up once seeing what her lunch contained. "Yummy, strawberries!" she said with a bright smile.

Kairi smiled barely noticeable as he watched Amu eat. "Strawberries always remind me of your sister" he said randomly, making Nagihiko, Ikuto, and Amu all stop in mid-bite. Once Kairi continued, they all kept eating, thankful that Kairi hadn't discovered Amu's secret also.

"Why do they remind you of her?" Amu asked casually after eating one of the strawberries.

The green-haired teen thought for a moment on how the best way to explain it would be. "It's just that in high school, you would always collect fruits that no one wanted from their lunch, then you'd bring it to Hinamori-San's class. Even though I didn't like strawberries, I'd always ask my mom to buy them and put them in my lunch, because then I knew for sure that if I gave them to you, _she _would be eating them" he said, growing quieter with every word spoken.

Ikuto chewed slowly as he looked suspiciously over at Kairi, who wasn't making eye-contact with anyone. "Sounds like you like her" he commented. Seeing the barely visible blush on Kairi's cheeks made Ikuto clench his jaw tightly and stare dead-panned at him. He didn't actually think that his prediction was right.

"How _is _Amu-chan doing, Amuto?" Nagihiko decided to ask, saving Kairi from answering Ikuto's question.

"She's doing good – really good" Amu answered with a smile.

"Is everyone treating her well?"

"Yeah, they are. She's in good hands"

"That's good to hear" Nagihiko remarked.

"So, you like her?" Ikuto repeated to Kairi. Kairi cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to be rid of the small blush on his face. "She . . . was my first love" he confessed.

Those five words were enough to make Amu blush and choke on her drink, Nagihiko laugh at Amu's reaction, and Ikuto glare at her. "R-really? I had no idea!" Amu exclaimed before taking another sip of her drink in hopes of curing her coughing fit.

Ikuto cleared his throat as a way to make his thoughts distracted while he stood up, off of the uncomfortable bench he was sitting on. "Amuto, I'm sure we have to go back and start filming again, let's go" he stated, beginning to walk away with his hands in his pockets casually.

Amu opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again, knowing that if she wanted to remain living, she'd have to listen to him. "I'll talk to you guys later!" she promised before jogging to catch up to Ikuto.

"Your friend Kairi is a bore" he commented dryly with a bored expression present once they were out of earshot.

Amu merely stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, you're a cold … I-don't-know-what!" she replied, getting an eye-roll from the boy walking beside her.

"Nice one. Or, as teenagers always say nowadays: Fail."

"Sh-shut up!"

* * *

An expensive limo pulled up to the front of the large high school, and out stepped Hoshina Utau, wearing a short uniform skirt and a tight white shirt to match. The point of having uniforms was to look proper, yet, somehow, Utau made it look more revealing than it originally was.

She delicately slipped on a pair of large shades while scanning the school grounds, walking forward with her manager beside her.

Reporter Kiseki shoved his head out from the short tree he was hiding in, grinning evilly once Utau came into his sight. "Hoshina-san!" he called, waving a photograph in his hands wildly while charging towards the blonde.

She smiled politely at him, removing her sunglasses. "Yes, reporter?".

Kiseki straightened his posture as he tried to look as professional as possible. He then lifted the picture so Utau could see it. It was the one where a pink-haired girl was with a blue-haired boy, sitting on a wheelchair together.

"We had spoken about a week ago, and you had refused this was you. And, this happened _before _your scandal with Tsukiyomi-san. Am I correct?" He asked.

Utau refused to stop smiling while talking to him. "I'm sorry for lying . . . that _was _me" she confessed, trying to make her eyes look guilty and apologetic.

"Ahh" Kiseki commented with a stuck-up smile. "Why are you lying now? I know for sure that this wasn't you. I asked around, and everyone who was with Ikuto that day said that he had gone off with Kukai, Tadase, and Amuto. You weren't mentioned at all".

Utau gritted her teeth together. "What's your point?"

"Do you know who this girl is? Or should I go ask Amuto, since I have yet to talk to him?" Kiseki asked with a cackle.

Utau rolled her eyes, placing her shades back on the bridge of her nose. "Do whatever you want" she replied before pushing past him.

Kiseki watched her until she was out of sight, then looked back down at the picture. "So, this definitely wasn't Hoshina . . . but, who was it? Ah, right! I still need to know Amuto's perspective on what had happened that day!" he announced before shrinking down and running in the direction of the filming location.

* * *

"Just have a casual conversation, like you're good friends" Tsukasa said through his megaphone, then placed it beside his director's chair behind one of the cameras.

Amu gripped the rake in her hands tightly as she stepped on the crunchy leafs beneath her feet. Ikuto also had a rake in his hand, but he was already raking up the leafs, like they were suppose to be doing. They stood facing each other, that way they could talk while doing work.

"So, Amu, I didn't think you'd end up being the wife of a nerd" Ikuto commented, referring to Kairi's crush on her.

Amu glared at him. "I won't" she defended, pulling off the leafs that had gotten stuck on the end of the rake.

"Well, now I know of someone who can help fix my computer if it breaks down. Nerds are good at that stuff, right?" Ikuto teased.

"Amuto, throw some leafs at him playfully but naturally, like a good friend" Tsukasa directed loudly, not knowing what the two were talking about.  
Amu hid an evil smile as she immediately obliged, bending over and gathering a pile of leafs, then throwing it at Ikuto. "Ha-ha, oh, Ikuto. Stop it" she said through a forced laugh, trying to appear like Ikuto's best friend.

"Why, you . . . " Ikuto then also grabbed a handful of leafs and threw it at Amu.

"Hey! I didn't throw it as hard!" she complained, gathering leafs on her rake and throwing them at Ikuto. He then grabbed onto her shoulders, somehow being able to push her down to the ground, and straddling her so she couldn't move or pull herself off the ground.

This worked to Ikuto's advantage, allowing him to throw crap-loads of leafs onto Amu without her being able to do anything about it. It wasn't long before he stopped and started laughing at how dumb Amu looked, leaves covering her except for her face, which was looking very angry at the moment.

Seeing his smile and hearing his laughter made Amu's angry expression disappear almost instantly and a blush appear. As her heart struck her ribs loud and fast, Amu pushed on her nose just like Nikaidou had told her to.

"Cut! The piggy nose at the end was exceptionally good – almost as if you're making fun of him like a good friend would!" Tsukasa commented.

Ikuto remained sitting on Amu as everyone else began moving to the next filming location. "Why are you doing that again?" Ikuto asked. Amu opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted when someone else spoke.

"Aw, that was a cute scene, Ikuto-kun!" Utau said sweetly as she walked over to them.

Ikuto stood up, off of Amu and helped her up with him.

"Oh my, you've got all dusty from the leaves" The blonde stated as she brushed the dirt off of Ikuto's shirt.

Amu felt the awkwardness in the atmosphere, since it was a semi lovey-dovey moment, with a random onlooker – which, of course, was her. She then quickly walked away, following Tsukasa over to the next location.

After watching her walk out of sight, Ikuto turned back to Utau, looking at her with a deadly expression. "You can stop acting, everyone's gone" he pointed out through gritted teeth.

Utau dropped her hands to her side, raising an eyebrow at Ikuto. "Aww, honey, act like you were earlier! Laugh and smile for me".

Ikuto smirked while shoving his hands in his pockets and walking away. He then stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. "That wasn't acting" he stated before continuing his walk away from her.

Utau's jaw dropped as her eyes went dangerously wide. "That wasn't acting? So . . . that _girl _actually made him laugh!" she huffed under her breath.

"Well, Amuto. I'll accept your challenge"

_

* * *

_

_"I sent you a gift, did you get it yet?"._

A man's voice on the other side of the phone asked.

"No, not yet. Dad, you didn't have to get me anything. You know how I don't like it" Ikuto replied with a tired sigh, rubbing his eyes as he walked along the pathway surrounding the school.

_"Ikuto, I can never not sent you a present for your birthday. What kind of person would I be?" _Aruto pointed out.

Ikuto remained quiet as he looked down at the ground and kicked a nearby rock. He wished that everyone would just forget when his birthday was. He didn't want it to be tomorrow, and bring back those memories he wished were forgotten. "How was your tour?" he asked, deciding to change the subject.

_"It was good. I'm sorry I haven't been keeping in touch lately. You know how celebrity life is" _Aruto replied with a slight laugh at the end of his sentence.

Even though his dad couldn't see him, Ikuto nodded.

_"I'm not complaining though. I get to play my violin to please people – what's better than that? Getting paid for doing what you love..."_

"Yeah, it's . . . nice" Ikuto replied, stopping in his tracks once seeing Amu sitting with Kairi on a bench a few feet away from him. "Hey, I have to go. Good luck on tonight's performance" he said before hanging up, placing his cell phone in his pocket and walking over to Amu."Tsukasa sent me over here to get you. We're going now".

Amu gave Kairi a quick hug, smiling at him. "It was nice to see you again. I'll try to keep in touch!" she said as she stood up and walked over to Ikuto.

"See you, Amu-chan" Kairi replied quietly.

Ikuto's eyebrows slanted downwards as he and Amu began walking towards the van they came here in. "Why did he call you by your name instead of Amuto's?" He asked.

". . . Well, he kind of figured it out . . . " Amu said, followed by a nervous laugh and a scratch of the head. "But both he and Nagihiko promised they wouldn't speak a word of my secret!".

"Let's hope they keep that promise" Ikuto commented under his breath as he climbed into the back seat of the van, sitting beside Amu while Nikaidou sat in the front with Tsukasa.

"Well, I think today went good! Great job, guys" Nikaidou commented with his signature goofy smile. Ikuto didn't bother replying to the man, since his phone started ringing.

He bit on his tongue to refrain from spitting out an insult once seeing who it was on the caller ID. "What do you want?" he demanded.

_"Tomorrow's your birthday. So, of course I want to spend time with you" _The woman on the other line said sweetly. The same 'sweetness' Ikuto hated.

"I don't want to see you. Oh, and about that favor you asked my manager about: I'm not singing your stupid song".

_"Ah, Ikuto. You've always been difficul-"_

"Oh, yeah? And how would you know? You haven't even been around for my life" Ikuto said angrily, but kept his voice quiet so he wouldn't disturb Amu and Nikaidou's conversation_._

_"Then, wouldn't now be a good opportunity to change that? Meet me tomorrow night at seven, at that restaurant you used to love that's a few minutes away from your studio. I forget what it's called, but I'm sure you remember. See you tomorrow night, Ikuto"._

Just like that, the woman hung up without allowing Ikuto to respond.

He glared angrily out the window at the cars passing by while gripping his phone tightly. There was no way he was going to that restaurant, especially since _she _would be there.

* * *

**If there are any mistakes, please let me know!**

And, I'm sorry that Nagihiko and Kairi weren't in this chapter much . . . I'm going to try to include them in some upcoming chapters.


	15. December 1st part 1

Chapter 15

December was officially here. The fresh start of a new month. It didn't take much for Amu and Kukai to be excited about this certain month.

In just twenty five days, Christmas would be here. Amu especially couldn't wait for the first snow fall. Who didn't like snowball fights and making snowmen? (A/N: ME! I hate snow!)

Amu skipped happily out of her room, nearly crashing into Saaya along the way. "I'm so sorry!" Amu apologized, picking up the box Saaya was carrying that had fallen to the ground.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Amuto-kun." she said with a wink, which confused Amu greatly. "This package came from the U.S. it's a birthday present for Tsukiyomi-san" Saaya announced, showing Amu the already opened box with a proud smile plastered on her face.

"S-Saaya! You can't open up someone else's birthday present!" The pinkette scolded, then stopped talking once she realized something. "Wait. His _birthday _present?" she repeated.

Saaya nodded, the same proud smile still on her face. "There's a card that says 'Happy Birthday' and it's signed from his dad. Amuto, you never told me that Ikuto's dad is the famous violinist, Tsukiyomi Aruto!" she hissed, followed by a pout she must've thought was cute.

Amu couldn't find her voice to respond to Saaya's statement. It was this moment that she realized how little she knew about Ikuto. Who was he?

"Ah, I have to pee!" The red-head said before hurrying away, down the hallway, leaving the silent pink-haired girl behind to swim in her thoughts. If Ikuto's birthday was today . . . why was he at the studio working instead of going out and having fun? Did Kukai and Tadase even know that it was his birthday?

Amu exhaled loudly and dragged her feet along the floor on her way down the stairs, her once happy mood now gone. She then perked up once getting an idea. She should do something for him! Or at least get him something. "Wait . . . but, what would he want?" She asked herself.

Ikuto was too hard to read. "Plus, he's like a phantom. If I touched any of his belongings just to see what he was interested in, he'd know immediately." Suddenly, she remembered the autograph she had gotten from the famous singer, Souko. Amu was sure that if she gave it to him, he would like it.

So, she tiptoed back up the stairs and got the autographed picture out of her room, then placed it on Ikuto's desk. Amu nodded in satisfaction with a smile on her face. At least she managed to think of one thing to do for him, but what else could she do? Birthdays only came once a year, so it was best to make the most of each one.

Finally, she decided she'd just visit him at the studio, seeing as how there was nothing to do at the house 'cause Kukai and Tadase were out filming some commercial.

Amu threw on a jacket on her way out the door, the cold breeze tickling her nose and sending shivers up her spine. She exhaled, watching her warm breath escape out of her mouth and disappear into the evening winter air.

She smiled contently while hurrying down the sidewalk towards the bus stop. It wasn't everyday that she got to take the bus. Ikuto always scolded her about taking public transportation, saying that it was unhygienic and she'd be recognized too easily.

"Ahh, he worries too much" Amu said under her breath to herself while gazing up at the darkening pink sky. A rush of excitement built up in her just at the thought of seeing Ikuto on his birthday. Since he said he'd be working all night, it'd be nice for him to take a break and celebrate.

* * *

Ikuto stood in front of the table at the back of the exquisite restaurant, staring blankly at Souko and the reporter sitting next to her. Waiters were all around, dressed in fancy clothes and speaking properly to the evenly well-dressed diners. It was a restaurant Ikuto had once liked, but after a while, he just got tired of all the formalities.

"Hello, Tsukiyomi-san! I'm reporter Chiaki" the man sitting next to Souko introduced himself, bowing politely. "Souko-san has informed me that you will be singing a re-make of her song. Would you care to answer a few questions?"

Ikuto clenched his teeth together as he looked over at the blonde woman sitting there elegantly. He had never agreed to that. He specifically said that he was _not _going to do the remake.

"Come, sit down, Ikuto-kun" Souko said with a smile.

_Yeah right. _The last thing Ikuto wanted to do was have a meal with _her. _"I'm sorry, but I have a personal matter to attend to. Enjoy your evening" Ikuto said with a small bow before turning on his heel and hurrying away, but not looking too obvious that he was running for his life. He was asked to show up at the restaurant, so that's what he did. Having a meal there was a complete different story, though.

"It's been ten years since the last time she spoke to me on my birthday . . . why the sudden change?" he muttered quietly on his way down the cold street towards his car.

He took off at full speed, gripping the steering wheel tightly in hopes of releasing his anger. Just the sight of her made him feel sick, his stomach churn and anger boil up inside him.

* * *

Amu stood up, off of the uncomfortable seat, walking down the aisle, through the brightly lit, graffiti-covered bus packed with people. She hid her face with the scarf wrapped around her neck so no one would recognize her on her way outside. That's the last thing she wanted right now.

The girl inhaled the scent of fresh air on her walk to the studio front doors, already thinking of where she would be able to find Ikuto. "Would he be recording a new song . . .? Or . . . well, what else would he be doi-"

"How dare you humiliate me like that."

Amu stopped in her tracks and hid in the shadows at the sudden voice. Why were there other people here? And not to mention, it wasn't Ikuto's voice. It sounded like a grown woman.

Amu poked her head around the corner, seeing Ikuto and Souko standing across from each other. Ikuto was looking stoic, while Souko was annoyed.

"Were you that angry you had to come over here yourself to tell me?" Ikuto questioned with a smirk. "I guess you're not afraid of people finding out anymore."

As the two spoke, Amu hurriedly looked around for a way to escape, knowing she shouldn't be eavesdropping. She couldn't go back, since there was a mob of people waiting to get on the next bus. If she went over there, even with her scarf covering half of her face, they'd for sure recognize her after standing beside her for so long. There was also no way she could move forwards, 'cause that's where Ikuto and Souko were standing, right in front of the studio.

"You're right. I'm not afraid anymore, because what have I got to lose?" Souko pointed out, "Actually, I'm beginning to think of revealing that you're my son, then people will notice me more."

Ikuto's eyes widened slightly as he looked his mom straight in the eye. She wouldn't dare . . . would she?

"I don't want this song I'm re-releasing to be over-looked. That's why I need you to sing it, then everyone will want to hear it." Souko continued.

Ikuto laughed humorlessly. "Did you love the writer that much? The one who wrote that song?" he asked. "Wasn't that love the reason you abandoned me all those years ago?".

Anyone could tell that the previous statement just made Souko more annoyed as she bore holes into Ikuto's head while she stared at him. "He meant the world to me. Because I gave birth to you, I lost him. I'm sure you found it horrific that day I left you because of him. But, you have no idea how much I suffered because of you."

By this time, Ikuto had turned around, getting ready to walk away, though he remained standing there.

"The least you can do is sing that song as a way to make up for being born!" Souko stated "That way I won't keep regretting that day."

Ikuto swallowed thickly while looking over his shoulder to make eye-contact with his mom, his watery eyes glistening in the moonlight. "Since you take credit for giving birth to me, at the very least, you should know the answer to this question: . . . what day was it . . . that you left me?" he asked in a bone-chilling soft voice that was no louder than a whisper.

Souko remained quiet with her lips pressed in a thin line, staring back at her son. It took moments before the look he was giving her finally sunk in. "Was . . . was it your birthday?" she asked quietly.

Ikuto sniffled, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve as he walked into the studio, leaving Souko behind in the darkness. It was about time that she realized when it was that she had abandoned her only child those years ago and why Ikuto hated his birthday.

Amu covered her mouth with her hand as her wide eyes filled with tears. No wonder Ikuto was always so cold and refused to open up to anyone. He didn't want to be abandoned again by someone he trusted.

Souko placed her hands in her warm pockets as she turned around, walking away from the studio and out of sight. Once she was gone, Amu hurried into the building in hopes of finding Ikuto.

She only walked a few feet into the dark, silent studio before she found him, but decided it'd be best to leave him alone right now, and not let him know she was there. He sat in fetal position on the cold ground, his head resting on his knees with his eyes closed, pushing the silent tears down his cheeks as he breathed softly and steadily.

To have your own mother – someone who's there to love and care for you – tell you that they regretted giving birth to you, left a deep, painful scar no one could ever heal. Amu bit down on her lip as she bowed her head, silently crying at the thought.

She had always seen Ikuto as a star – hence the meaning of his name (many constellations) – one that would shine brightly and be strong through any challenges that came his way. But, what could she do to help the star that was actually hurt, and had troubles shining?

"God . . . what do I do?"

**

* * *

**

Sorry this chapter was so short! Also, Kukai and Tadase will be returning to the story soon! Don't worry, love-triangle lovers!

If there are any mistakes, please let me know!


	16. December 1st part 2

**  
Chapter 16**

Ikuto sat in the spacious recording booth with his headphones on, paying attention to only the background music of the song he was recording. After drinking the leftover water in the plastic bottle sitting next to him, he chucked it in the garbage and removed his headphones.

The light above him that continued blinking as a way of telling him that it was about to burn out, was starting to annoy him. So, the boy pulled himself off of his warm chair and wandered out of the booth, walking down the dark, abandoned hallway towards the storage room on the bottom floor.

The studio was his favorite place to go to think. Especially at night, that way no one else would be there to make noise or try talking to him. Though, others would think that especially since it was his birthday, someone should be with him, even _if _he wanted to be alone.

Ikuto yawned while hoisting the long, tube-like fluorescent light out of a box, then shutting off the light on his way out. All he wanted to do was finish recording his song and not have any disruptions.

However, he had to admit that it felt good to walk around after sitting for so long. Not to mention, he was starting to feel hungry. "Will I ever finish this song?" he muttered under his breath as he walked into the booth.

It was now that he noticed the light had stopped flickering. His eyebrows slanted downwards as he watched it suspiciously. "Weird . . ." he commented while sitting back down, placing the extra light bulb on the ground, then reaching for his water bottle sitting beside him and taking a long drink.

He stopped suddenly, pulling the water bottle away from him and staring at it. He had just drank the rest of the water from it . . . so, why was it full again? Glancing in the garbage can, he saw the bottle he had recently emptied. Ikuto looked from his water bottle, then back to the non-flickering light, and frowned. What was going on?

He then got an idea. And, if this idea worked, then his assumption would be correct. "Ah, I wish I had a cup of really hot coffee" he said with a sigh, making sure to speak loudly so if someone else was nearby, they could hear.

After waiting a few minutes, Ikuto stood back up and pulled on his jacket on his way out of the booth, stepping into the hallway and looking down the railing at the bottom floor. Just like he had predicted, there was Amu, running through the lobby towards the stairs with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"So, it _was _the pig-rabbit" Ikuto commented to himself, folding his arms across his chest as he watched her hurry up the stairs. She froze instantly once seeing him. "O-oh! Haha, weird seeing _you_ here!" She said quickly with a forced laugh, "I-I just came here to . . . drink some coffee . . ." she grew quiet with every step Ikuto took closer to her.

"Really? Now, isn't that interesting" he replied. He then noticed her guilty expression and immediately asked, "You didn't by any chance . . . happen to _see _anything earlier, right?" he asked, referring to the situation with his mom.

Amu bent her head to look down at the ground as she bit on her lip. "I'm sorry, Ikuto! I saw your present from the States!" she apologized. She knew now wouldn't be the best time to admit that she witnessed what had happened earlier that evening. "Saaya opened up your present, and I saw it. I've committed a sin! Please forgive me" Amu said while holding the coffee out for Ikuto to take.

"Hm, so now you've advanced to not only apologizing, but also bribing" Ikuto commented with a smirk. "I'm impressed". He then took the coffee from Amu, flinching and cringing once holding it in his hands. "Why is it so hot!?" he asked while nearly dropping the cup on the ground.

"You said you wanted hot coffee . . ." Amu pointed out quietly, continuing to shrink away in fear from the blue-haired boy. "I hope you don't get angry for saying this . . . but, happy birthday!"she said cheerfully with a thumbs up.

She could've sworn she saw a hint of a smile from Ikuto, but as soon as it appeared, it had left right after he went to take a drink from his coffee, then complained once more about it being too hot.

* * *

"Since it's your birthday, we need to celebrate!" Amu stated as she lead the way down the sidewalk, passing different kinds of shops on the way.

"Why?" Ikuto asked from behind her. Amu ignored his lame question that didn't even deserve an answer. "Back at the orphanage, sister Sakura would always buy the birthday kid an ice-cream, then that would result in the famous tradition . . . let's get ice-cream!" Amu announced, talking more to herself than Ikuto, who flinched at the thought.

"It's too cold" he commented dryly. The pinkette wanted to glare at him, but refused to do so, since it was his birthday, after all. "Party pooper" she commented under her breath before hurrying into a nearby ice-cream shop and returning just as quickly with two chocolate ice-creams.

She handed one to Ikuto and took a seat on a bench beside a park. Amu waited eagerly for Ikuto to take the first bite, excited to show him the tradition that everyone did at the orphanage.

After taking one bite, Ikuto leaned forward to take one more, when Amu pushed the bottom of the cone up, shoving the cold ice-cream on the boy's face. "See, see? That's the tradition! I don't know how it started though . . ." Amu said through her laughter as Ikuto glared at her, wiping his face off with his sleeve.

Amu inhaled deeply after she finished giggling, then handed her uneaten ice cream to him. "I'm sorry. You can have mine". Instead of taking it, Ikuto just pushed the ice cream into _her _face, then walked away smirking.

"H-hey, that's not part of the tradition!"

"It is now"

Instead of coming up with a witty response, Amu kept silent on their continuing walk down the streets, shortly being stopped by a person handing out fliers. The worker managed to shove one of the papers into Amu's hands as they walked by. She looked down at it and immediately laughed. "Yeah, right . . ." she muttered and began to crumple up the paper when Ikuto snatched it from her.

His eyebrow raised after reading the title, then looked over at Amu. "Why wouldn't you be interested in this?" he questioned.

Amu forced a laugh, trying to hide the truth as she quickly made up something to say on the spot. "'Cause skating is dumb" she insisted.

Ikuto shrugged, staring down at the skating brochure. "Wouldn't be that bad" he stopped talking before saying anything else and glanced at Amu, who was suddenly acting rather odd. "Let's go do it"

"Wh-what?"

"Let's go skating" Ikuto repeated with a chuckle at how weird it felt to ask someone to go _skating _with him. Skating was something girls normally did.

Amu forced another laugh as she waved her hand. "Why bother? I'm sure there are lots of people already at the rink, so we'd be recognized too easily" she pointed out. While she rambled on, she didn't notice that she was still following Ikuto, who was headed in the direction of the rink.

* * *

He glided across the smooth ice with ease, not having to try in order to look like a professional. Not to mention, the cold didn't seem to affect him. Ikuto looked down at the ice as he skated slowly with his hands in his pockets, like usual. He had remembered often coming here when he was younger, so he could clear his head.

Always at this time of the night the place was deserted, which is something he remembered from his childhood run-aways to this place.

"How did you know no one would be here?" Amu asked from the other side of the rink from her seat on the bleachers, not yet done putting on her skates. Something told Ikuto she was purposely taking her sweet time.

"I used to play hockey here. Eventually, I began noticing what days and times this place was empty" Ikuto replied as he skated over to the wall separating the bleachers from the ice. "You take forever to get those on" he muttered while nodding towards Amu's rental skates.

"Wh-whatever" she huffed, trying to untie the knot that prevented her from getting any further with her lace-tying.

Ikuto chuckled before pulling himself over the short wall and kneeling in front of Amu. It seemed like a matter of seconds before he had _both _of the skates ready to go. He looked up at the girl, meeting her eyes. "Ready?" he asked.

It took the pinkette a moment, but she managed to squeak out a small 'yes', mesmerized by his abysmal eyes. Ikuto had shortly after returned onto the ice, while Amu stumbled onto it from behind him.

Instead of skating around, she chose to just stand there, occasionally holding onto the wall and pushing herself slowly along. Ikuto then looked over his shoulder at her with an amused expression, "You can't skate, can you?"

Amu's cheeks reddened – and it wasn't because of the cold.

"Here."

Ikuto held onto Amu's cold hands as he slowly skated backwards, allowing her to practice skating forwards at the same time. After doing that for a while, Ikuto asked if he could let go. Without hearing an answer, he let go anyway, only to see Amu freak out and lunge to grab his hands again.

"Ikuto!" she hissed, gripping his hands tightly in fear of him letting go again. Even if it was just to tease her, it still freaked her out.

She then frowned while looking down at their hands, eyebrows slanted downwards. "How very old fashioned. I see what your plan was. This is just an excuse to hold a girl's hand." she commented.

Ikuto smirked at the statement. "But, you could say that you're _also _using this situation to hold my hand." he pointed out devilishly.

"As if." Amu scoffed. However, she refused to detach her fingers from Ikuto's. Mainly just because she didn't want to fall, but the other reason, was because she enjoyed the warmth his hands provided.

"Are you ready to spin?" Ikuto asked.

"What?! No!" Amu exclaimed just as Ikuto spun in a circle, taking the pinkette with him. "D-don't do that again!" she huffed in fear with wide eyes and shallow breaths. If it was possible, her grip on his hands seem to increase by the second while he continued to pull her along with him, spinning occasionally, but mostly skating forwards and practicing on turning.

"Alright, I'm going to let go now"

"N-no!"

Ikuto let go of her hands and slowly began skating backwards away from her as a way of encouraging Amu to try it on her own. She did try, and failed quite miserably. She ended up not only falling to the cold ice beneath her, but pulling Ikuto down with her. Lucky for Amu, she didn't land on the ice. Ikuto wasn't as lucky though.

"Clumsy fool" he said with a wince as he rubbed his head that had hit the ice. Amu muttered a few insults into his chest as she lay with her head resting on him. Both of them felt too tired to get up. It was as though they had been skating for hours.

Finally, Amu sighed and lifted her head, making eye-contact with Ikuto and not being able to look away as she was nearly hovering over him in the midst of pulling herself to her feet. She would've felt extremely embarrassed to be staring at him like this, that is, if he wasn't also staring back at her with the same expression.

To Amu it felt as if time had just stopped. She was able to get a good look at Ikuto without him being stressed out, or anxious. In fact, he was peaceful and barely showing any expression, which the girl found refreshing.

_'Attention everyone, the skating rink will be closing in ten minutes' _a robotic voice over the intercom boomed, making Amu jump and hurriedly look away from Ikuto while standing up straight.

She tried to ignore the feeling of her heart pounding against her ribcage while her cheeks colored, but was almost a hundred percent certain that Ikuto _must've _felt that electricity spark between them.

* * *

"I'm sorry that this birthday wasn't all that great . . . we didn't do much" Amu apologized as the two of them reached the top of the stairs just outside the house.

Ikuto stopped walking so he was now standing on the sun-deck and looked over his shoulder at Amu. "Amazingly, being with you made the hours seem to fly by. If it wasn't for you, the day would've been . . . frighteningly long" he replied.

Amu remained quiet as she remembered what Ikuto's mom had said to him earlier. _". . . I'm sure you found it horrific that day I left you because of him. But, you have no idea how much I suffered because of you. The least you can do is sing that song as a way to make up for being born!" Souko stated "That way I won't keep regretting that day."_Without doing something to get his mind off of that, no wonder the day would feel long.

Amu looked back at Ikuto, seeing the same expression he had worn when talking to his mom. He was probably thinking back to that time too. But, he simply cleared his throat as a way of covering it up and started walking across the sun deck, towards the house.

Amu hurried after him, hugging him tightly from behind and burying her face into his back. "Today, the day that you were born, is a precious day. Thank you for being born" she said softly, wanting to hug him forever as a way of letting him know that he wasn't alone in the world. Even if he felt like he was.

She wanted to show him just how much everyone cared about him, and not because he was an idol, but because he was a good friend.

"W-well, goodnight!" Amu said quickly while hurrying into the house before Ikuto could see her blush.

Ikuto chuckled quietly as he watched her run away. "Thanks, Amu"


	17. Brown, Yellow, or Green?

**Chapter 17**

The creaking of the floorboards underneath Saaya's feet seemed louder than usual. No matter how hard she tried to be as quiet as possible on this early morning, everything was sounding as noisiest as it could be.

"Yes, yes. Dude, the reason I came here was just to get Amuto's money!" Saaya hissed quietly into her cell phone. She had specifically woken up this early so she could talk with her friend and not have anyone eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Then again . . . that Tsukiyomi is pretty hot. But, I mustn't get distracted! I've tried to bring up the topic of money to that goon, Nikaidou – or whatever his name is – but he always seemed to be too busy to converse with." Saaya heaved a sigh and fell onto the couch.

Nothing seemed to be going according to her plan. Originally, she was to arrive there and get the money within a few days. _Not _waiting more than two long weeks to make progress.

"Don't say that. I read in a magazine that the famous singer, Souko, was going to re-make my uncle's song. . . . What do you mean 'so what'?! That means that she'll need my uncle's permission. Since he's dead, she'll talk to me, Amuto and Amu, because we're his surviving family. Then, money will be coming my way!" The red-head stated proudly while punching the air.

She suddenly grew quiet while furrowing her dainty eyebrows. "What? No . . . oh, come on! Don't doubt me. I'm pro at this kind of stuff. So far, everyone believes I'm just an innocent girl with no specific personality, which is perfect."

The sudden noise of the front door opening made Saaya nearly shriek in fear as she turned off her phone and made a mad dash up the stairs, nearly running into Ikuto along the way. "Ah! I'm sorry." she said with a sweet smile before continuing to hurry into Amu's former room.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow at the girl, watching her disappear down the hallway rather quickly. "Weird." he commented lazily with a sigh following shortly after.

"Amuto! Hurry up, you lazy thing!" he called while staring at the door to his room just as Kukai exited the washroom.

"Amuto's still not up?" he questioned with a short laugh. "We're going to be at the studio with Hoshina today, right?"

Ikuto nodded on his way down the stairs with the brunette beside him. "What a terrible way to begin the day" the blue-head remarked dryly while searching the fridge for his water bottle.

Kukai sniggered under his breath. "We all know you're just too proud to admit that you're in love with her." He spoke while taking a seat next to Tadase – who had just gotten back from a nearby coffee shop.

Ikuto rolled his eyes over to the energetic boy and said in dead-panned. "How did you know?"

Tadase could just smile at his two friends. It felt like ages since they had just hung out like this. Talking for hours but not really saying anything. If that made any sense.

Usually at this early in the morning, Kukai would be watching TV, Tadase would be grabbing a coffee, and Ikuto would be sound asleep for at least another few hours. Though, Tadase preferred these busy days when they were all to wake up early, that way before filming began, they could talk. Just like old times.

"Guys, have you seen my necklace?" Amu asked while hurrying into the room, still putting her socks on.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow at her. The necklace she was referring to had better not be the lock one that he had given her.

Once everyone shook their head 'no', Amu nibbled on her lip nervously, not knowing where on earth it would be. She couldn't even remember if she was wearing it when she went to bed or not.

"Is it that lock one you're always wearing?" Kukai asked.

Amu nodded and was about to speak, when her eyes widened and her blood ran cold, slowly turning her head to the kitchen and seeing Ikuto there, leaning against the counter with his arms folded across his chest.

She hadn't noticed him there before. If she knew he was there, she wouldn't have said anything! Now he knew that she had lost the necklace within a week.

He just made a small 'tch' noise under his breath and put his water bottle back in the fridge. "Typical."

Just then, Tsukasa came twirling in through the door with a bright grin set on his face. "Like my new jacket, my lovelies?" he asked while flaunting a royal blue, leopard-print fringed, half-cape, half-coat, that was all-too familiar to Ikuto and Amu. It was the same jacket they were making fun of while on their shopping trip just days earlier.

They secretly glanced at each other and tried to hide their smiles. Now they knew what type of person would buy such a thing.

"Anyway, I have to get you guys down to the studio, pronto." Tsukasa stated. He grabbed onto Kukai's arm and pulled him out the door while everyone else followed behind.

Amu still wasn't giving up her search for the necklace, though.

During the entire drive to the studio she was contemplating its' where-abouts. It could very well be at the skating rink, or even in her and Ikuto's room.

All the possibilities made Amu's head hurt as she groaned and pressed her forehead against the cool window beside her. "Are you okay?" Kukai asked while nudging the pinkette in the side.

She just mumbled words no human could understand in response.

* * *

White curtains were draped behind, left, and right of the four band members as they all did different poses with what they were given.

Ikuto was given a lime, which he bit into and flinched instantly once the sour juice touched his tongue. Just as he made the expression, the photographer snapped a picture.

Kukai, on the other hand, was to take a bite of a banana and make a weird pose at the same time – which he pulled off easily.

Amu didn't have to eat anything, but pose next to some flowers. Tadase was another lucky one that didn't have to eat, and was to take a picture with a dog.

Tsukasa said that the reasoning for this was to reflect on everyone's personality. Tadase was calm and lovable, so he resembled a dog, and was to wear all brown. Kukai was viewed as energetic and bubbly, so he wore yellow.

Ikuto, on the other hand, was dangerous. Hence the vibrant green he was wearing and all the limes he had to eat in front of the cameras.

White resembled innocent and pure, which is what Amu got to dress in.

The four of them lounged around a table at coffee break, Kukai and Ikuto continuing to complain about their roles.

"All those limes are making my tongue feel paralyzed" Ikuto groaned, staring at a huge box full of them that he had to eat in the next shoot. He then nudged Kukai in the side to get his attention. "I'll trade colors with you. Eating bananas can't be that bad. At least they taste good."

Kukai made a disgusted face while shaking his head. "Their good taste wears off after the seventeenth one you eat." he replied, "trust me, you'll want to throw up."

Yukari just rolled her eyes at the unsatisfied younger people. She finished touching up Amu's makeup and turned to Ikuto and Kukai. "Quit complaining, there's a whole lot more for you to enjoy." she stated devilishly while pointing to piles of crates that workers were bringing in. The men then started unloading more bananas and limes out of them.

Ikuto and Kukai had the same wide-eyed, unblinking expression while staring at what they had to eat.

"If I eat all those bananas, I'll turn into a monkey." Kukai commented weakly.

"If I eat all that, my tongue will fall off." Ikuto put in.

Amu smiled in amusement at their comments before looking at the flowers she was to take pictures with. "I'm going to do my best!" she chanted.

Kukai glanced over at her with a half-smile. "Why, so you can impress the tabloids?"

"Suck-up." Was all that came out of Ikuto, and Tadase smiled at her and wished her the best. Amu shook her head at how different all the guys were. Major diversity happening in this band, yet somehow, they all managed to get along. Weird how that works.

"Ikuto-kuuuuun!"

"Oh God." Ikuto groaned while shutting his eyes.

Kukai, Tadase, and Amu all looked for the source of the noise, seeing Utau running through the doors towards them.

"Aw, honey. You're wearing my favorite color!" The blonde commented while draping her arms around Ikuto's shoulders. "Wait a minute . . . but, if you model looking like this, everyone will fall in love with you." she said with a pout, then looked over at Amu with an evil glint in her eyes. "Don't you agree, Amuto-kun?"

Amu looked up from her flowers then shrugged. "It's not a bad thing to be dating someone who's admired. I mean, I think it's fortunate that Ikuto even _has _admirers, seeing as how he's always glaring at people or just showing no emotion whatsoever." she commented passively.

Once feeling an intense stare at her side, Amu didn't dare to say any more, knowing the intenseness was coming from Ikuto. Instead, she smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"I'm hungry." Kukai said out of the blue, receiving a look of disbelief from Ikuto. "You just practically _inhaled _about thirty bananas."

The brunette shrugged. "I'm feeling hungry for something different . . . like ramen! Yes, ramen is good."

A small scoff was heard from Utau, which caused Kukai to look over at her. "Do you have a problem with that?" he asked with a slight laugh.

She just shook her head in response. "No, of course not. But, I bet you haven't mastered the level 10 ramen." she commented. The brunette's eyes widened as he jumped out of his seat. "Why, yes I have! There's no way you could have."

"As a matter of fact, I have."

"Right"

"Want me to prove it, wise guy?!"

"You're on!"

And with that, both Kukai and Utau ran out of the building, towards the ramen shop across the road.

"How competitive." Tadase commented.

Amu nodded as she sniffled back the snot about to drip from her nose. What a lovely sight. She had a cold.

* * *

After the photo shoot had finished, Amu finally got the opportunity to blow her nose, and ran to the men's washroom.

Sure, it was a gross feeling to blow your nose, feeling as if your insides were being poured out onto a piece of toilet paper, but afterwards, it felt so much better to be able to breath through your nostrils again.

She exhaled in content and threw the tissue away, turning around and coming face-to-face with Utau.

"A-am I in the wrong washroom?" the pinkette asked with wide eyes.

"This is the men's washroom, so yes, you are in the wrong one. The women's washroom is where you should be." Utau replied icily while crossing her arms and looking deadly. "I know you're a girl. Come with me."

Without being able to refuse, Amu found herself being pulled out of the washroom.

How could Utau have figured out her secret? And . . . what was it that she was planning to do right now?

These thoughts raced through Amu's mind while following Utau towards the main lobby of the studio, where everyone was packing up and getting ready to leave.

"Utau-chan, please let go!"

"Shut up." The blonde snapped, stopping in the lobby and finally releasing Amu's arm. "I bet you had a lot of fun pretending to be a guy. It was probably just so you could get close to one of them. So, tell me, Hinamori Amuto, which color do you prefer? Brown, yellow . . . or _green._" She made sure to put emphasis on Ikuto's color, figuring she already knew which one Amu would choose.

"Wh-what are you talking about? Please stop this!" Amu pleaded, glancing at her surroundings to make sure no one was watching them.

"Tell me who you like." Utau repeated, more clearly this time. "Is it Tadase, Kukai, or _Tsukiyomi Ikuto_?"


	18. Amuto's A Girl

**Chapter 18**

Amu could only stare at the blonde standing in front of her, unable to answer her question. She couldn't possibly tell Utau who she liked. After all, he was the one Utau was dating.

Amu opened her mouth to reply, but closed it once again, knowing no noise would come out even if she tried. To make matters worse, she could feel the eyes of all three of her band members on her. She could only hope they were too far away to hear the conversation.

"You like Ikuto, don't you?" Utau questioned with a smug smile as she crossed her arms. "Then, I guess I can just go tell him." she figured, then twirled around on her heel, walking towards Ikuto, who was talking to Kukai.

Amu quickly grabbed Utau's hand, falling to her knees and getting ready to beg if she had to. Utau chuckled as she also knelt so she could look the pinkette right in her honey-colored eyes.

"If you don't want that, then shut up and follow my lead, alright?" The blonde pressured, getting a small nod out of the teary eyed pinkette. "Ikuto, quick come here! There's something wrong with Amuto-kun!"

Both Ikuto and Tsukasa walked over upon hearing what Utau said.

"Ah, Amuto, what's wrong?" Tsukasa asked while kneeling down beside Amu, who couldn't stop shivering due to nervousness. Not to mention, she felt like she was about to cry.

"He had a cold, but I think it's now a fever." Utau said in a fake panicked voice. Amu glanced up at her, making the blonde mouth 'Say a word, and die', which made the pinkette look back down to the floorboards.

"Amu, stand up." Ikuto said, holding onto Amu's hand and pulling her up.

Tsukasa frowned before placing his hand on Amu's forehead. "Well, you definitely have a fever." he decided, "Come with me, we'll get you a ride back home."

Utau and Ikuto watched until they were out of sight before the blonde turned to look at him. "Hello, honey-bunny."

Ikuto rolled his eyes and sighed, about to walk away when something caught his attention. A certain chain around Utau's neck that was very familiar looking. He lifted the chain up, revealing a lock that was hidden beneath Utau's jacket. So, she was the one that had Amu's necklace.

"Oh, do you like it?" Utau asked, smiling brightly and getting ready to mega-glomp Ikuto.

"Where'd you get it?"

The blonde opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again, thinking of what to say. "A s-store, obviously."

"Where did you really get it?"

Utau rolled her eyes while folding her arms. "I found it on the ground that day we were filming the music video."

Without another word, Ikuto unhooked it, taking it away from Utau and putting it in his pocket. Even if it was on the ground, it was most likely near Amu, but Utau took it anyway and most likely even knew that it belonged to Amu.

"H-hey, give that back!" Utau exclaimed, following Ikuto throughout the lobby and threatening to throw her shoes at him.

"This belongs to Amuto, not you." Ikuto stated while walking out of the studio, towards the band's van.

"How would you know?"

At this, Ikuto stopped walking and turned to look at Utau, a mischievous look on his face. "Because, I bought it for her." he replied with a smirk at the girl's reaction, then continued walking away, leaving a speechless blonde behind.

* * *

Kukai crashed around the kitchen, nearly knocking over everything in sight while searching for different things. He placed the sugar on the counter next to the ice cubes and limes. He then took out the blender and mixed all the ingredients together, hoping to make a good tasting drink.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow at him as he passed by, not bothering to ask what he was doing.

Kukai then poured the drink into a glass, making sure to add in a funky straw. He had gotten the limes from the photo shoot, knowing that they were excellent at helping colds go away, which is what Amu needed right now.

"I'm going to be in the piano room. No one disturb me." Ikuto stated once emerging out of the room specifically there for a place to put all the presents fans had given them. In his left hand was a pig stuffed animal, and in his right was a rabbit.

Tadase looked at him weirdly then nodded, not having any reason to go in the piano room anyway.

The brunette in the kitchen smiled in satisfaction before grabbing the tall glass of juice and hurrying up the stairs with it, towards Ikuto's room. Just like he had predicted, Amu was lying in her bundle of blankets on the floor, trying to get to sleep.

He closed the door quietly behind him and tiptoed over to her. "Are you feeling any better?" Kukai asked.

Amu groaned softly and rubbed her face tiredly. "No."

"Here, drink this. It should help." Kukai said, presenting Amu with the drink. He hoped it wouldn't be too sour, or it would most likely upset Amu's stomach even more. Wouldn't that be a lovely sight.

The pinkette weakly pulled herself up and tried to ignore the sudden light-headed feeling that rushed over her. "What is this?" she asked, peering down at the drink.

Kukai chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. " . . . Lime juice . . .?" he replied, then quickly added. "If you don't like it, then don't drink it!"

Amu downed the whole thing instantly and smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks, Kukai." She set the empty glass beside her, lying back down on her side and patting the blanket beside her. It was always comforting to have a friend nearby whenever you were sick.

Kukai got the hint and lay down next to her, propping his elbow up and resting his cheek in the palm of his hand. "Fight hard, Amuto! If you can take on the spiciest level of ramen, I know you can conquer this!"

A small laugh escaped Amu's lips. Kukai had that power of making anyone feel better, no matter what scenario they found themselves in. "Speaking of ramen, how did your match with Utau go?"

The emerald-eyed boy gave Amu a thumbs up. "Great. After the spicy challenge, we made a bet to see who could eat the most."

"Oh, yeah? Who won?"

"Well, me, of course!" the boy replied with a grin. "She was almost passed out by the end, but I could've still been eating long after that!"

Amu smiled weakly at her friend, who continued rambling on about his great ramen adventure. He was so carefree, that it was inspirational. He was always encouraging others and hated it when people were sad, sick, or just having a bad day. Everyone needed a friend like Kukai.

". . . Yeah, so to sum it up, I'm still the champion." Kukai finished with a satisfied sigh.

"I think it's cool how idols like Hoshina-san can surprise you . . . " Amu said quietly as she began to doze off, eager to be rid of this fever. "I mean . . . who would've guessed she could eat a crap-load of ramen . . ."

After saying that, the girl fell asleep.

Kukai smiled at the sleeping girl and brushed the hair out of her face. "Fight hard, Amuto!" he chanted quietly before picking himself up off the ground and exiting the room, taking the empty glass with him.

* * *

It was around two in the morning when Ikuto finally walked out of the piano room, a stuffed animal in his hands. Not just an ordinary animal, a bunny with a pig nose. Also known as a pig-rabbit. Ikuto had taken the nose off of a pig stuffed animal, then carefully sewed it onto the bunny. He figured it was a job well done. To complete the look, he put the lock necklace around its neck.

He just had to find the right opportunity to give it to Amu.

Fumbling around in the dark, he set the pig-rabbit on the couch and wandered over to the fridge, looking for something to eat. The fridge was empty except for a bowl of limes sitting right in front of him.

After taking one look at the green citrus fruit, he stuck his tongue out in disgust and closed the door, revealing someone standing right there.

Ikuto jumped back and took a good look at the person who seemed half-dead. "Amu, what are you doing?" he asked while she continued standing there, eyes drooping closed with each passing second.

She was breathing heavily with rosy cheeks and eye glazed over. Not to mention, her forehead was covered in sweat. Her fever still hadn't gone away, if anything, it had gotten worse.

"Amu . . .?" Ikuto repeated, quickly catching her as she fell forwards, too weak to hold herself up.

"I want some water . . ." Amu said so quietly, Ikuto had to strain to hear her.

Instead of replying, he picked her up and carried her up the stairs, lying her down on his bed. Sleeping on the ground wouldn't make her feel any better in this situation.

"I'm going to take you to the hospital." Ikuto announced while rummaging through his closet for a jacket for Amu to wear. He was angry with himself for not taking her earlier. But, then again, her fever wasn't as bad then.

"N-no, you can't!" Amu said in the strongest voice she could muster. "They'll find out my secret!"

"Amu, that's better than you being in this state!" Ikuto replied, throwing a jacket over her shoulders. Just by his hand brushing over her skin, he could feel the heat radiating off of her. The thing with fevers, is that your body feels hot on the outside, but on the inside you're freezing.

"No, I-I'm not going! Aren't you scared of what will happen if I'm found out?" Amu asked as she quickly brushed the tears out of her eyes. "B-because of me, I'm scared you're going to get hurt."

Ikuto released a long sigh, dropping to his knees on the ground in front of Amu. "I already knew the risks when I let you stay in the band. Don't worry about me."

The pinkette shook her head and inhaled deeply. "I'll be fine. I don't want to go to the hospital." she stated surely.

After a long, quiet staring contest between the two, Ikuto finally gave up and told Amu to lie back down. He went into the kitchen, grabbing an ice pack out of the freezer and a cold bottle of water, then hurrying back to his room.

He made Amu drink half of the water from the bottle and gave her a fever-reducing pill before she fell asleep.

As the hours passed, Amu would continuously have to run to the washroom to throw up, then crawl back into bed for Ikuto to take her temperature and then get her to drink some more water to stay hydrated.

Whenever the girl got a bit of sleep, Ikuto would use that time to try to cool her down by placing the ice pack on her forehead and neck.

Ikuto rested on his stomach, but lay with his head facing Amu, so he could still keep an eye on her.

Slowly, her eyes started opening groggily as she mumbled under her breath.

"Amu, what's this?" Ikuto asked, holding up his hand in front of Amu, fingers spread apart. The girl took a long look at his hand, then lazily replied, "A palm."

"Idiot, it's five. But, at least you're not as sick as you were before, since now you can kind of identify it." Ikuto replied before he stood off of his bed and yawned, taking a quick glance at his watch. Six in the morning.

"Oh gosh . . ." he muttered, rubbing his face. "Go back to bed. I'll see you in a few hours." Ikuto stated on his way out the door.

"Thank you, Ikuto." Amu said quietly before he left. He didn't reply since she had fallen back asleep, but nodded anyway.

After grabbing the pig-rabbit off of the couch downstairs, he set it beside Amu, then left the house to go for a walk, figuring there wasn't enough time to get a proper sleep.

* * *

6 HOURS LATER . . .

Utau stepped out of her limousine and removed her glasses, scanning her surroundings. She had never seen Ikuto's house before. Using the excuse of visiting Amu since she's sick was a good idea she came up with. Now, she could see Ikuto's living environment.

She daintily walked across the sun deck and into the house, instantly seeing Amu sitting on the couch, holding a stuffed animal. Once making sure they would be alone, Utau made her presence known.

"Good afternoon, Amuto." she greeted while taking a seat next to the pinkette. "Where is everyone?"

Amu tried her best not to sound rude or glare at Utau as she answered her question. "Tadase-kun is taking a shower, Ikuto is out, and Kukai is in the backyard."

"Perfect." Utau stated, her cheerful expression instantly washing off. "I want to tell them your secret, so you should start begging me right now to not say it." She stated while folding her arms and crossing her legs.

"I'm going to tell them." Amu replied quietly. She still wasn't in perfect health, and wasn't capable of using a lot of energy. She hugged her pig-rabbit tightly while closing her eyes. Sleep sounded like a good thing to do. Even if it was the afternoon.

"Good. Then, for sure they'll want you to be kicked out of the band." Utau huffed. She wanted to add that she'll then get a better chance at getting together with Ikuto, but decided not to say it. She didn't want to admit it out loud that she actually liked him.

"Oh, and then you also have to confess to Ikuto." the blonde added. Judging by how much Utau knew him, she figured he would definitely reject the pinkette. She had to laugh evilly in her head at that thought. "Anyway, I think you should do it tomorrow night at your music video promotion."

Amu could only remain silent while staring down at the floor. If she didn't do this, then who knows what Utau would do. Slowly she nodded in response.

Utau smiled at her – and not politely, I will add – before standing off of the couch. "This is the right thing to do. I'll see you tomorrow night." she said before slinging her over-sized purse over her shoulder and exiting the house, the sound of her heels echoing off the walls.

Amu closed her eyes and exhaled loudly in hopes of calming her rapidly beating heart and churning stomach. "Crap . . ." she whispered weakly. She wasn't strong enough to do this.

During the entire night and all through the next day, Amu couldn't calm her insides. It felt as though they would leap out of her at any minute. It didn't help that she hadn't slept very well due to worrying so much.

Tadase and Kukai had asked her if anything was wrong, but she continued to reassure them that she was just nervous for that night's music video promotion, which was the truth, but she left out the part of exposing her identity.

Amu sat on her pile of blanket in Ikuto's room, watching him search for a jacket to wear. The girl found herself feeling more depressed at the thought that after she told everyone that she was really a girl, she'd have to leave this place. But, it was for the best. She didn't want to affect Ikuto's life in a bad way. So, when she left, everything would go back to normal.

"Hey, why aren't you getting ready?" Ikuto asked once putting on his jacket.

"I still have some time to get dressed." Amu replied. "Hey . . . when my brother comes back and I return to the church, if we ever see each other again . . . please act as if you don't know me."

The blue-haired boy looked over at her with furrowed eyebrows. To say he was confused would be an understatement. Why would she want to act as if they didn't know each other?

"Okay . . ." Ikuto replied slowly and hesitant while trying to figure out what she was getting at. "Any specific reason why?"

Amu shook her head with a smile on her face to hide what she was really feeling. "Not particularly, I just think it'll be easier that way." 'Easier to forget you_.' _She finished in her head.

Ikuto was still confused, but refused to show it. "Alright. I'll see you in a little bit." he said on his way out the door.

"Ah, Ikuto!" Amu called hastily.

The male stopped in the doorway and turned to look at her expectingly. "What?"

The pinkette blushed lightly before smiling and saying, "Thank you for the pig-rabbit!"

Ikuto pretended to look clueless while slanting his eyebrows. "What are you talking about? I would never give you a thing like that. Crazy girl." he said under his breath with a scoff before walking away.

Amu smiled softly at his retreating figure. He was never able to take acts of gratification well.

She reached over to her pig-rabbit, removing the necklace from around its neck and putting it around her own. She definitely wasn't going to be leaving it behind.

She then proceeded to search her suitcase for her girl clothes, which were tucked away in the side zipper pocket nestled up next to her secret stash of tampons. Once exhaling deeply, Amu pulled on the plaid mini-skirt and black, tight fitting tank-top. She then tried her best to tie some of her short hair up, putting 'X' clips into place.

Feeling way too revealing, Amu tumbled out of the washroom, making sure the coast was clear before she booked it to the nearby bus stop. Wearing those clothes were the best way to show everyone that she was indeed female, but it didn't mean that she wanted to wear them.

The pinkette let out a tired sigh, closing her eyes and leaning back in her cold, vinyl, bus seat. She wanted to apologize to everyone properly. To Nikaidou, for letting him down. To Tadase and Kukai for not telling them the truth, and to Ikuto for being such a pain to him.

Amu could feel her heart rate increase once the building came into sight. The building where it would all be put to an end.

"Here we go . . ."

She hid her face from the others on the bus and jumped out into the cold December air, walking towards the large building where the conference was being held at this very moment.

Continuing to hide her face, she hurried through the lobby, passing Kukai, who was surrounded by fangirls begging him for autographs. Ikuto and Tadase were also there being bombarded with fans and flashing cameras.

Ikuto flinched once another flash went off, turning to look the other way to get his eyesight back. That's when he saw pink out of the corner of his eye. Once getting a better look at the girl waiting for the elevator, his eyes widened. "What is she doing?" he demanded quietly through gritted teeth. There was no doubt that was Amu.

He started after her, only to be stopped with more fans, who made it impossible for him to move or even see. He had to stop her. There was no way he could let her show everyone that she was actually a girl.

Once rounding up Kukai and Tadase, they escaped from the fans and hurried to the elevator. Kukai and Tadase had no idea what was going on, but followed Ikuto's orders anyway.

"Dude, what are we doing?" Kukai asked, pressing a button for the elevator to take them upstairs. Tadase nodded in agreement and looked over at Ikuto, waiting for an answer.

". . . We have to find Amuto." Ikuto replied.

"Okay . . . do you know whereabouts he might be?" Kukai questioned, still not understanding this whole 'search and rescue' mission.

"Look for a girl with pink hair."

The brunette's eyebrows slanted downwards as he exchanged glances with the blonde standing next to him. "A girl? I thought we were looking for Amuto."

Ikuto sighed, stepping out of the elevator. "We are. Amuto's a girl."

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**Did this chapter seem rushed? I think it did . . . I'm sorry for that! **


	19. All Is Well

**Chapter 19**

Utau found herself sitting next to reporter Kiseki. Out of all the hundreds of people watching the premier of the music video, she was stuck next to the egotistical man who was too curious for his own good. Utau could only hope that the saying 'Curiosity killed the cat' would come true sometime soon.

She stole a glance at the closed door, not seeing Amu anywhere in sight yet. Utau just wanted to get this over with. She was tired of Amu being around. Some would say it was because she was jealous, but Utau would never admit that was true, even though it was.

The blonde was jealous of the sudden rise in popularity Amu got. She also got to live with three of the hottest idols in Japan. Basically, Amu just took Utau's place within a month of signing on to A.N. Jell. Now Utau was overlooked more than ever. But, with her genius plan, Amu would return back to where she came from, and Utau could have more of the spotlight on her.

She was still trying to figure out how that would work though. Creating another scandal with Ikuto didn't sound too bad. Also, without Amu in the way, Utau had a better chance at getting Ikuto to fall for her.

Unknowingly, the corners of Utau's lips turned upwards at the thought. If that were to happen, it would be too good to be true.

Sighing heavily, Utau stood out of her seat and walked across the room, standing in the doorway and looking out into the hallway. "Where is that stupid girl?" she whispered angrily.

"What girl?" an obnoxious voice asked from just beside her ear.

Utau tried to smile at Kiseki as she turned to face him. "Oh . . . just a friend." She replied while holding back a gag. Friend wasn't in her vocabulary. In the movie business, you should never get too attached to your co-workers, who knows when you'll be battling for the higher rank.

Utau's head snapped to the side once hearing Ikuto's voice down the hallway. Straining to see, she saw him walk out of an elevator with Tadase, but Kukai remained frozen. Almost petrified.

"That wasn't the best way to tell us, Ikuto . . . " Tadase commented with a light laugh as he looked back at Kukai.

Ikuto found it odd how Tadase was so calm about it – almost as if he already knew. Kukai, on the other hand, was the opposite of Tadase's attitude. He had been standing like that for a while now, unmoving.

"Kukai, we have to go find her." Tadase said with a strained voice while trying to push Kukai out of the elevator.

"He's a girl?" The brunette questioned no one in particular, eyes still wide and glazed over.

Reporter Kiseki poked his head around he corner, watching Ikuto and Tadase pulled Kukai with them on their venture down the hallway, out of sight. His eyebrows slanted downwards while taking his camera out. "Who's a girl?"

Utau was tempted to tell Kiseki right then and there about the truth. But, if she did that, then word would get out that she was the one who uncovered the secret. Soon enough, Ikuto would hear about it. Utau didn't want to seem like the 'bad guy' in his eyes.

Just when she was about to go back to her seat, she saw pink. Amu was finally here.

Amu walked down the hall towards Utau with her head bent, staring down at the tiles on the floor. This was it. If she didn't do this, then Utau would tell everyone. Amu didn't want this to affect Tadase, Ikuto, and Kukai.

Utau smirked victoriously while crossing her arms. Kiseki noticed Utau's expression change and glanced in the direction she was looking. A girl with pink hair.

Kiseki's eyes widened, quickly scanning through the pictures on his camera. He had a picture of a mysterious pink-haired girl and Ikuto on the wheelchair, and another one with Ikuto and the same girl exiting a skating rink. Kiseki mentally kicked himself for always being too far away to identify the girl.

But now was his chance. If the girl would just look up from the floor.

Tadase quickly looked down hallways as he ran through the building. The three of them had decided to split up, thinking that would be a quicker way of finding Amu.

He was about to give up, not knowing what on earth Amu was planning. The blonde groaned as he turned down yet another hallway, stopping with eyes wide once seeing Amu at the other end of the hall, and Kiseki standing with Utau only a few feet away from her.

"Don't look up." Tadase said quietly, hoping Amu would be able to hear him.

That's when everything seemed to be happening all too fast. Amu began looking up, Kiseki got his camera ready, and Tadase did a mad dash towards the pinkette, throwing his jacket over her head to cover her face.

"Hotori!" Kiseki yelled while looking like a mad man with a camera instead of a pitchfork. He instantly began sprinting after Tadase and the girl, who were already running down the stairs.

Utau just stood there with her jaw hanging by her knees. Tadase wasn't even suppose to be at this premier. He and all the other boys in the band were rumored to have been going somewhere else.

The blonde felt like hurting someone. She had received the wrong information from her assistant. If she had known the boys were going to be there, she never would have made Amu do that, since her fellow band members would, of course, cover for her.

"I can't believe you, Amuto." Utau groaned, stomping her foot angrily on the ground and continuing to look in the direction the pinkette ran. Why couldn't the girl simply have walked a little faster? If she had done that, then by now everyone would've known the truth.

Ikuto, who had seen Amu running away with Tadase, stood beside Utau with a raised eyebrow. "How did you know that was Amu?" he asked. Without seeing the girl's face, it was almost impossible to identify her.

Utau's eyes widened, quickly spinning around to look at Ikuto. "I uh . . . "

"I'll talk to you some other time." Ikuto stated while staring at her suspiciously, walking in the direction Tadase and Amu went.

The blonde watched him disappear, then groaned once again. She didn't notice him standing right there. Now he probably knew that she was the one who plotted all this. "What should I tell him? N-now will he end it between us? Why am I the one being cast aside instead of Amuto!?"

* * *

Tadase closed the dressing room door behind him, making sure to lock it so Kiseki couldn't suddenly barge in. If Ikuto and Kukai came by, they had a key, so that worked out well.

He slowly walked up to the girl still hidden beneath the jacket. What could he say at a time like this? It wouldn't be normal to just simply say that everything was fine. But, he couldn't pretend to be mad, because, first of all, he wasn't. And secondly, Amu clearly already felt bad enough for not telling him.

"I'm sorry for not telling you that I'm a girl." Amu said quietly while slowly removing the coat from off of her head.

Tadase exhaled loudly, stretching his arms out in front of him. "This is so sudden, I don't know what to say to you." he admitted. "Ah, this is outrageous . . . lift your head so I can make sure you're telling the truth."

Amu took a calming breath before looking up at Tadase, waiting for him to get angry. His poker face was starting to make her more nervous. But, before long, he smiled softly at her.

"You're beautiful."

Amu's cheeks colored, quickly looking away from Tadase. "Y-you've always been so nice to me . . . yet, I still kept this a secret from you. I'm sorry."

Tadase slowly nodded and brushed a stray hair out of Amu's face. "Let's start anew, then. But, later, you owe me an explanation."

The doors behind them suddenly flew open, then closed just as fast with Ikuto leaning against them, breathing heavily. "Those reporters appeared like a friggin' plague." he said through his breaths.

Kukai put the key to the dressing room back in his pocket, locking the doors once again so no one else could come in. He then saw Amu there, and stopped in his place once again.

How could he have not noticed before that she was a girl? He had always been close to her, he should have seen that coming.

Slowly, he advanced towards her. His unreadable expression was even worse than Tadase's. It wasn't normal for Kukai to not be energetic or bubbly looking.

The brunette suddenly grabbed onto Amu's shoulders, staring her right in the eye. "You're a girl. You're a girl?" Amu flinched when his voice rose.

They stood that way for what felt like hours to Amu. Kukai looked angry, which is what scared her the most. She mentally prepared herself to be yelled at by him.

Kukai suddenly smiled, leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on the pinkette's forehead. "Thank goodness." he said, obviously relieved. "You're a girl! I totally don't mind!"

Ikuto had to restrain Kukai from hugging Amu, holding his arms behind his back. "Okay, well, it's good that everyone's fine with it." he commented.

Kukai couldn't stop repeating under his breath 'Is this a dream?' while Tadase phoned Nikaidou and Yukari to come down to the room to help them with this situation. They had to get Amu out of there without anyone recognizing her.

In a short amount of time, the two adults arrived and helped everyone come up with a plan. Yukari was to wear the clothes Amu was wearing, and Nikaidou would place a jacket over Yukari's head and leave the building, acting as if it was actually Amu underneath it. He would tell everyone that the mysterious girl is Tadase's girlfriend.

Amu, in the meantime, would change back into Amuto, and exit the building with everyone else, acting normal.

"Show time." Nikaidou announced with a smile, loving the fact that he got to practically suffocate Yukari with the jacket.

Amu stepped out from behind a curtain, wearing her boy clothes once again. They were way more comfortable than those terrible girl clothes.

"We're all standing behind you, Hinamori! Don't give up!" Kukai exclaimed, pulling Amu into a strong bear-hug.

To think that she would've already been out of the band made tears come to Amu's eyes. She loved every band member so much, they all felt like family. For now, she would continue to keep her secret from the public, and continue to be Hinamori Amuto, for the sake of the band.

* * *

Silently crawling through the dark, quiet house, a certain girl roamed into the kitchen, turned on a small source of light and sat at the counter.

Amu took her necklace out of her pocket, frowning once seeing it's broken state. When she was running with Tadase earlier that day, it had dropped to the ground and the place where the chain of the necklace goes through broke off. Without that small piece, the lock necklace would no longer be a necklace.

The pinkette got the super glue out of a nearby cupboard and sat back down, applying the goo onto the two broken pieces of her lock.

She had specifically waited until everyone was asleep until she did this, so Tadase and Kukai wouldn't be suspicious of why a necklace would mean so much to her, and so Ikuto wouldn't see that she had broken it. She could just hope that Saaya didn't find her.

Come to think of it, Amu had no idea where Saaya was at. Apparently she had gone to see a famous singer about a contract signing thing. Whatever that meant.

Amu exhaled loudly while continuing to hold her lock together until the glue dried. Today was tiring. Not to mention surprising. Once everyone had gotten back to the house, Utau was there waiting.

She had pretended to not know what was going on, until Ikuto flat out told her to cut the crap and confess that she was the one that told Amu to reveal her secret. Who knew Ikuto could be so observant?

The conversation then progressed into Utau and Ikuto arguing about how they had made a promise – Utau wouldn't interfere with Amu and her secret, meanwhile Ikuto would pretend to date Utau. Once everyone in the band had heard that it was just an act, it was shocking, yet made perfect sense.

"Is it dry . . .?" Amu asked herself quietly while looking closely at the lock. She let go of it, smiling in satisfaction once seeing that it was indeed staying together, but didn't know what to do once realizing she had also glued three of her fingers together.

"Crap, crap, crap!" She whimpered, trying to pull her fingers apart. Just as she was doing so, the worst happened. She heard the front door open, and someone cough. It was Ikuto. Of course. How come Amu had such bad luck?

She quickly – and clumsily – put the necklace into her pocket and tried to sit there looking normal, despite her fingers.

Ikuto walked into the room and stopped in his tracks once seeing her. "Why are you still awake?" he asked while raising a brow in her direction and hanging up his jacket.

"Uh . . . I w-was . . . doing something. Where were you?" Amu asked quickly.

The blue-haired boy walked up to her and shrugged. "Just . . . taking care of something."

Amu just nodded in response, trying to hide her hands from him. It would be embarrassing to explain to him what had happened, though, she doubted he'd be surprised.

"Why is the glue out?" He asked, picking it up and putting it back in the cupboard. He then looked back at Amu, noticing her trying not to make eye contact. "Hey, you. Why was the glue out?"

The pinkette winced and looked over at him, lifting her hands to show him her glued-together fingers. "I w-was gluing something . . . and this happened."

Ikuto just gave her the unimpressed look as a reply and slowly shook his head. "Genius."

Within a few minutes, Amu found herself still sitting at the counter, but now having to hold her hands into a bowl of hot water in order to loosen up the glue.

Ikuto sat beside her, chin rested on his palm, looking ready to fall asleep at any minute. "Have they soaked long enough?" he asked while trying to hold back a yawn.

"I think so."

Ikuto picked up a mini paint brush, dipping it in a tiny amount of paint thinner, then holding onto Amu's hands, gently rubbing the brush along the fingers that had glue on them.

"I'm sorry." Amu apologized, hating the fact that she was always getting into trouble, and Ikuto constantly had to save her.

"It's fine. This way I can stop thinking about complex problems and focus on these fingers that strangely got stuck together." Ikuto replied.

Amu looked over at him, seeing him focusing a little too much on getting the glue off her hands. Clearly he was trying to get his mind off of something. That's when she began wondering where he had gone at this late hour. Could he have gone to see his mom? "Did . . . something happen?" She asked gingerly.

Ikuto sighed before he hesitantly replied, "There's a person who's asking me to do something unreasonable. At first I said no . . . but in the end, I agreed to do it for her." His eyebrows then slanted downwards as he continued. "Strangely enough, whenever a matter concerning her comes up, you always seem to be around to get my mind off of it."

Amu was glad she could be of use. Maybe this is what was in store for her when she had accepted to be apart of the band – it was to help Ikuto. "If I had known this would help you feel better, I should have glued all my fingers together." she commented.

Ikuto looked up at her and smiled – the kind of smile that reached his eyes – then looked back down. "There, the glue's off." he announced.

The pinkette took this opportunity to quickly push on her nose as she felt her cheeks redden just by seeing his smile. But, it was an amazing smile – she had to admit.

"Is that some kind of secret signal?" Ikuto asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched her closely with suspicion in his eyes.

"N-no, of course not."

"Whatever, I'm going to bed." Ikuto announced before disappearing out of the room and up the stairs without another word.

It was almost two in the morning. Amu didn't blame him for being tired, since he was one of those people who loved to sleep. Just like a cat. For now, she hoped her feelings for him were still a secret, even though she felt as though the whole world knew, judging by the way she acted while around him.

However, it was still in his head that she liked Tadase. Perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing for him to think, for now.

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**PREVIEW: **

**"Why are you so bothered by this?!" Amu demanded angrily. She should have already been meeting Tadase for their date right now, but Ikuto wasn't letting her go. **

**"Because you're so foolish that it's making me angry!" Ikuto exclaimed, raising his voice. **

**Amu had tried to hold back her anger, but it seemed to all come to the surface. Ikuto didn't understand anything. He was so blind, especially when it came to things like this.**

**"Why should you be angry because of someone like me!?" she demanded. **

**Amu quickly wiped the tears out of her eyes, refusing to cry at a time like this. Why couldn't Ikuto see? Boys were so dumb and clueless, they missed out on all the important details and hints. **

**"Just ignore my presence! You can't see anything clearly and you don't know anything at all!" She yelled. **

**Without allowing her to speak another word, Ikuto could wait no longer. He pulled her closer and pressed his lips against hers'. **


	20. Can't Help Falling In Love

**Chapter 20**

His fingers flowed swiftly across the ivory of the piano, filling the room with a soft, hypnotizing melody. His eyes were delicately closed in concentration as thoughts penetrated his mind.

It was what he had witnessed earlier that day that forced him to shut himself in the white-walled, windowless piano room.

_FLASHBACK_

_"Oh, and Amu? This is a date . . . so, dress nicely." Tadase added as Amu opened the door, stepping inside._

_She blushed instantly at the thought. A date with Tadase? "O-okay. Sounds good." she replied while trying her best not to stutter too much._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Ikuto's dark eyes snapped open at the re-occurring thought, his long fingers stopping in place on the piano keys. With no warning, he pushed his lips together and applied pressure to his fingers, hitting the keys and sending waves of jumbled musical notes strung together through the air, having the power to make anyone flinch.

Why couldn't he get his mind off of what had happened? He didn't understand what it was about the certain pink-haired girl that made him continuously be thinking about her. Perhaps it was because she was always annoying him.

As if on cue, Amu gingerly opened the door, poking her head inside, then walked into the room fully with a glass of juice in her hand.

A scoff left Ikuto's mouth once seeing her. How ironic that she would appear when he was thinking of her. "What do you want?" he asked bitterly. Not knowing what emotions he was feeling didn't make him a nice person at the moment.

"Kukai just made some lime juice and figured you would want some . . . " Amu replied hesitantly, feeling the dark aura in the room as she set the glass on top of the piano.

Ikuto glared at the glass. He hated limes. Was Kukai trying to be funny? "That day I ate those limes was also the day you got sick. Why is it that unfortunate things always happen to me when I'm around you? Better yet, why am I around you at all?" he demanded while staring Amu in the eyes.

"I-I don't know." She replied, wavering under his gaze.

"Hey, and explain what happened earlier." Ikuto continued. His eyes didn't soften. "Why is it that when Tadase asked you out, you stuttered and blushed like an idiot? He's going to find out pretty soon that you're in love with him." he hissed.

Amu pursed her lips together in hopes of controlling her annoyance. He had it all wrong. "I was only blushing because I was startled. And, I've told you before that it's not true!" she replied, referring to what he had said about her being in love with Tadase.

Ikuto exhaled, crossing his arms on top of the piano and resting his chin on them. "I bet once you tell your dearly beloved, he'll feel sorry for you. That's why he'll accept you. If things continue to go on that way, it'll bring trouble."

The girl standing beside him sighed loudly at his attitude. "Is it that bad to like someone? It's harder than it seems when you don't expect them to like you back and you try your best to keep it a secret from them." Amu defended tiredly.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow as he rolled his eyes over to the girl. "Are you like that? I'm sure if I was Tadase, I'd be feeling pretty lousy!" he pointed out angrily. After the words left his lips, he had managed to confuse himself. He didn't know why he suddenly got angry.

"I won't be found out." Amu stated, embarrassed once realizing there were tears in the corner of her eyes.

She stared down at the ground as Ikuto looked at her closely, then exhaled loudly as his arms dropped to his side. "Do you want me to talk to him for you?"

"No." Amu replied with an edge to her voice. "Please pretend you don't know and don't interfere." she said through gritted teeth before walking away from him, closing the door behind her as she left the room.

"Good. Let's see how long you can bear with it!" Ikuto called after her. Once taking a few calming breaths, he sighed angrily and banged his hands against the piano keys once again before resting his head on them, feeling the vibration of the sound waves beneath his forehead.

He was angry with himself for losing his temper, but even more angry once he still couldn't figure out why he had done so in the first place. What was Amu to him?

The answer was probably as clear as anything, but to him, it remained a mystery. She didn't feel like family, friend was just a weird thought, and lover . . . well, that was downright scary. Ikuto refused to allow himself to trust someone that much. He wouldn't get attached too deeply.

It must've been a couple hours the he was sitting like that for, since when Nikaidou came running into the room, Ikuto lifted his head and could feel piano-key indents in the side of his face that he was lying on.

"Ikuto, I need to talk to you!" The man said in a panic.

Ikuto yawned, rubbing the side of his face and beginning to play the piano again. Hopefully this could clear his head. "I'm busy. If it's about Amu, don't talk to me if you expect to live to see tomorrow."

Nikaidou opened his mouth to speak, whimpering in despair. What he needed to say was indeed about Amu, but he didn't want to be beaten up by Ikuto. "Ah, I don't care if you hurt me! Look, Amu's leaving to meet up at a restaurant with Tadase."

A humorless laugh came from Ikuto. "She told me to not interfere with her matters, so I won't. Plus, she was just crying about how it wasn't true that she liked him, yet, now she's going to confess? She makes no sense, so leave me alone." He said, continuing to focus on the song he was playing.

"Yes, there will be a confession." Nikaidou admitted, flinching once Ikuto had instantly stopped playing and turned to look at him, waiting for him to continue.

"What?"

"Well . . . Tadase's going to confess his feelings to this girl that he likes, and asked Amu to go along with him so they could clear things up about the rumor of them dating and all that crap." Nikaidou replied.

Ikuto rolled his eyes. So, Amu was about to get rid of her pride completely in order to help her loved one find happiness. She was an idiot in Ikuto's opinion. Why would she put herself through that pain just for Tadase?

It didn't take long for Ikuto to be off of the piano bench and out the door, running through the house and jumping over furniture. He mentally thanked Kukai for being nowhere in sight. If he had seen Ikuto like this, questions would arise.

That's when he saw her. She was talking on her phone, about to get into a taxi.

Ikuto catapulted down the stairs of the sun deck, hurrying towards her.

"I'm on my way now. Just wait a little longer." Amu said to Tadase as she neared the vehicle. "Okay, I'll be waiting for you." Tadase replied from the other line before the two of them hung up.

Just as Amu's hand touched the cold door handle, she found someone else's hand grab onto hers and begin pulling her back towards the house. "I-Ikuto, let go!" she exclaimed, trying to be free of his grip.

They stopped on the sun deck, facing each other and remaining silent. The cold night air didn't seem to bother either of them, especially now since they were both angry with each other.

"Where are you going?" Ikuto questioned through his clenched teeth. "I always knew you were clumsy, foolish and troublesome. But, how can you not have a sense of pride? It's making me frustrated beyond belief, Amu!"

"Then don't bother with a person like me." Amu replied just as annoyed. "Why does it matter to you that I'm going to see Tadase? I'm just trying to help him, so why are you so bothered by this?!" Amu demanded angrily. She should have already been meeting Tadase for their date right now, but Ikuto wasn't letting her go.

"Because you're so foolish that it's making me angry!" Ikuto exclaimed, raising his voice.

Amu had tried to hold back her anger, but it seemed to all come to the surface. Ikuto didn't understand anything. He was so blind, especially when it came to things like this.

"Why should you be angry because of someone like me!?" she exclaimed.

Amu quickly wiped the tears out of her eyes, refusing to cry at a time like this. Why couldn't Ikuto see? Boys were so dumb and clueless, they missed out on all the important details and hints.

"Just ignore my presence! You can't see anything clearly and you don't know anything at all!" She yelled.

Without allowing her to speak another word, Ikuto could wait no longer. He pulled her closer and pressed his lips against hers.

It seemed almost unreal. Like a hallucination they were both experiencing. For the first time in Ikuto's life, he felt safe. Amu had that ability over him. As long as she was there, it felt like home. A home he never had before.

Once coming to his senses and realizing what he was doing, Ikuto pulled away slowly, both of them unable to speak or move. What just happened? The cold, don't-touch-me Tsukiyomi Ikuto actually kissed someone. How unreal.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, still shocked with himself as he turned around and walked away unsteadily, posture as straight as a board.

Amu couldn't move her feet. She remained standing there on the sun deck, eyes glazed over while resembling a statue. "Wh-why did . . . he d-do that . . .?" she asked herself weakly.

She pondered the possibilities while staring up at the stars, snapping out of her trance once her phone began to ring. " . . .Hello . . .?" she answered, still in a daze.

"Amu, where are you?"

It was Tadase. Amu's eyebrows slowly slanted downwards. "I'm watching the stars . . ." she replied.

"... Are you still at the house?" Tadase asked.

Amu hummed in response before turning off her phone so she could concentrate. After hanging up, she couldn't even remember who she was talking to. Not to mention, she had the feeling she had to be somewhere at that very moment.

But, she couldn't even walk – let alone think of what was happening. Why did Ikuto do that? It seemed so unlike him.

"Oh, Amuto! I finally found you!" Saaya announced with a smile while running to her cousin with a suitcase in her hand. "I know this is short notice, but, I'm going back to my foster home. I'm sorry for intruding for so long."

Truth is, she was just leaving now because she had gotten the copyright money from Souko. She had no need to stay around any longer.

"Oh . . . well, stay in good health." Amu replied. In the eyes of Saaya, she looked drunk.

The red head chuckled nervously, backing away slowly. "Yeah, I will. Bye!" with saying that, she spun around, hurrying down the driveway and passing Tadase along the way.

The male slowly walked towards Amu, eyebrows slanting downward once seeing her state. He was beginning to think she had gotten into the wine cupboard. "Are you drunk?"

Amu looked up at him, trying to focus her gaze on the blonde. "No . . . oh my gosh, the restaurant!" she exclaimed before covering her mouth in shock. "I'm so sorry, Tadase-kun! Something came up, and I . . . I'm sorry."

Stupid Ikuto actually managed to make her forget. If that was his plan, then he had certainly succeeded.

Tadase sighed tiredly while gazing up at the dark sky. "Well . . . the girl I was going to confess to didn't show up either." he admitted with a frown. "But . . . I'm not going to let you off so easy. You have to buy me dinner for compensation."

Amu nodded in response. Seemed fair enough. She just couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt that overcame her. She had promised to help him out because of a mistake she did, and now she had broken that promise. She could only hope she'd get another opportunity to help him confess to his girl.

What made her feel even worse was the fact that Tadase was so easy going and let her off much easier than anyone else would have. If she did that to Kukai, he'd spray her with a hose. And Ikuto, she was sure she'd be shoved in a cupboard or something.

"I'm really sorry, Tadase-kun." Amu apologized again with a bow.

Tadase opened the sliding door to the house, letting her go in first. "I'm sure I'll survive." he replied with a somewhat forced smile. He was looking forward to confessing to her tonight, but, he knew he now should wait. Clearly Amu wasn't ready to be confessed to yet.

Amu dragged herself up the stairs, stopping in front of her bedroom door. It would be weird sleeping back in her room now that Saaya was gone. She had gotten so used to being with Ikuto in his room.

She groaned at the thought of him, pushing open her door and crashing onto her bed. Life was confusing. Why, oh why, did Ikuto do that? He couldn't really have feelings for her.

Then, a thought came to mind. What if he thought he had hurt her feelings or something by kissing her? It was a rather odd thought, but in the state Amu was in, it made sense.

She then decided she'd text him. Talking to him in person would be too weird. Thank goodness for technology.

Picking up her phone, she bit her bottom lip as she texted the message and sent it to him. It was only after she had sent it, did she realize something. Auto correct and a mind that was not all there, was not a good combination.

She quickly opened up the message she had just sent out, re-reading it. Just like she had suspected, the message read, 'To Ikuto, it was alright'. It was suppose to say _she_ was alright.

"Now he's going to think I meant the kiss was alright!" Amu yelled, running around her room in a frenzy. "What do I do!? I have to get his phone before he reads it!"

Amu poked her head out of her room, staring down the hall at the closed door of Ikuto's room. What to do, what to do. If he had read it by now, he would've come out of his room . . . right? Amu decided it was safe, then. She could just casually go into his room and start a conversation with him, and take his phone in the process.

She cackled evilly under her breath at her brilliant, mastermind of a plan. The pinkette sprinted down the hall, knocking on the door twice as she called out Ikuto's name.

"Is he in the washroom . . .?" she asked herself once she received no response from beyond the door. That would work to her advantage even more.

Slowly opening the door, Amu looked around the room. As she suspected, he was nowhere in sight, and the door to his washroom was closed.

"Thank you, Ikuto's bladder." she said thankfully, knowing it sounded weird, but she actually was very thankful for it. If it wasn't for that, then it would've been very awkward being in the same room as him. Now, all she had to do was find his phone.

Amu quietly walked fully into the room and closed the door behind her. After searching quickly around the desk and around his shelves, she began to panic. Where on earth was his cell phone?

That's when she saw it, sitting on Ikuto's bed.

Instantly, she lunged for it, picking it up. Just when she did so, her heartbeat nearly stopped once hearing the bathroom door open. Within an instant, she rolled off the bed, lying between the wall and the bed, hitting her forehead on the floor.

"Ah, that's going to bruise." she complained quietly while rubbing her head. But, there was no time to worry about that now. She had to delete the message. Amu's mouth dropped. You needed a password to get into Ikuto's phone.

"What's the stupid password?" Amu asked herself while pushing random numbers. Knowing Ikuto, it could be anything. In fact, it was most likely something entirely random. Stupid smart person.

"1437."

"1437." Amu repeated, pushing those numbers. A smile lit up her face once it allowed her to view his messages. But, it didn't take long for her to realize something. The voice that told her the numbers obviously had to belong to someone. And she recognized that voice all too well.

Slowly, the pink-haired girl looked over her shoulder.

Lying on his stomach on the bed, watching her with his chin rested in his palm and a faint mocking smirk on his face, was Ikuto. "'It was alright'?" he repeated with an eyebrow raise.

Amu winced, slowly closing her eyes as she rested her head on the ground. Crap.


	21. Clueless Ikuto

**Chapter 21**

If there was any way possible to command yourself to either die, faint, or turn invisible on command, Amu would've done it already. How is it that she found herself in the most embarrassing situations while with Ikuto?

Amu slowly sat up, leaning against the wall while staring down at the floor. To say she felt awkward would be an understatement.

She quickly jumped to her feet, realizing what she needed to clear up. "I-I didn't mean the kiss was alright, I meant to say that I'm alright! Though, I don't know how I managed to say 'was' instead of 'am' . . . but, yeah. I'm alright, not the kiss. ...Wait, no, the kiss was alright . . . I-I mean . . . !" Amu just overall stopped talking , realizing she wasn't getting anywhere. "I meant to say in my text, that I'm alright." she said slowly.

Ikuto sat there with a raised eyebrow the entire time. Amu didn't blame him for being amused – she looked like an idiot. He then stood up off of the bed and walked over to her. "It looks like you're going to get a bruise." he pointed out while poking her forehead.

The pinkette winced while rubbing the spot he poked. It surprisingly hurt a lot more than it should have. If she was getting a bruise, it was probably from when she had fallen on the ground just a few minutes earlier.

"We have a photo shoot tomorrow, so you have to take care of that." Ikuto stated on his way out the door, gesturing for Amu to follow him.

She slowly and awkwardly shuffled behind him, making sure to keep a few feet in between them. She sat at the counter in the kitchen while Ikuto searched the cupboards for a special ointment that would stop forming bruises in their place.

He finally found the bottle and handed it to Amu, telling her to apply it on the developing bruise. Afterwards, he turned around to leave while Amu began rubbing it on her forehead.

"Oh, right, and don't get it near your eyes." Ikuto added as he turned around, seeing Amu wincing as she squeezed her eyes shut. Too late, she had already gotten it in her eyes.

"I-it stings!" She cried out while rubbing her eyes out of instinct.

Ikuto quickly grabbed onto her hands, pulling them away from her face. "You'll only make it worse." Once searching around the room, he came across the vegetable sprayer at the sink.

"Close your eyes." He advised while bringing her over to the sink. After turning on the sprayer, he aimed it over towards Amu, rinsing the ointment out of her face. She was then told to sit down while Ikuto went to get eye drops.

Amu winced after trying to open one of her eyes. They stung too much to open. She groaned and buried her face in her hands out of humiliation. Would you look at that, another embarrassing situation with Ikuto. She couldn't really say that she was surprised.

Ikuto then came walking back into the room with the eye drops, sitting on the chair beside Amu. "Here . . . try to open your eyes for just a second." he said, holding the eyedropper in front of her.

Pushing the stinging feeling aside, Amu's eyes fluttered open slightly, just enough to let the droplets in.

She bit down on her lip while squeezing her eyes shut once again. The stinging was still there, but she knew it would be gone soon. "Thanks for your help . . . I'm going to bed now." Amu said while standing out of her seat, keeping her eyes closed.

It would've been easy to walk to your room with no sight if you weren't a clumsy person like Amu, who instantly tripped on one of the steps. Sighing, Ikuto walked over to her and held onto her hand while walking in front of her. "Come on."

Amu tried not to blush as he led her slowly up the stairs. She was always in need of saving. She felt bad to be such a burden to Ikuto. Especially now, since he even had to guide her up the stairs since she was nearly blind.

Ikuto glanced down at their intertwined fingers, smirking at how small Amu's hands were. He then looked at her face as his eyebrows slanted downwards. No, there was no way he could possibly . . . could he? Ikuto shook the thought away and stopped in front of Amu's bedroom door, letting go of her hand.

"Here you go. Wake up early for the photo shoot tomorrow." he said with a yawn before walking down the hallway to his room. He leaned against his closed door when the same thought crossed his mind. Could he? No . . . there was no way he could like her.

Just as he decided on that, another thought came to mind. Then, why did he kiss her?

* * *

Nikaidou jumped at the sound of an exasperated sigh, followed by a slamming door. He looked up from the photos in his hands, seeing Ikuto walk into the room and sink into a chair.

The photo shoot had just ended, Nikaidou figured Ikuto would be happy about that, and not looking like he did now.

Ikuto sat with his elbows rested on his knees, and his head in his hands. So many things were going through his mind right now. What he had just witnessed, and what had happened just a few days before with his mom.

He had gone to see her to confirm that he would be re-making the song she desperately wanted him to. After talking with Tsukasa and Souko, he then found out that the singer of the song who was so precious to his mom, was actually dead. Ikuto didn't get to know the guy's last name, but his first name was 'Tsumugu'. He personally thought it sounded weird.

It was because of this Tsumugu guy that Ikuto's life had messed up so much. It didn't make him feel any better when after the meeting, his mom had made it clear to him that she was searching for his twin children, and once she found them, she'd make them her own kids, replacing Ikuto.

Ikuto felt sick to his stomach once recalling that. The same day, after that incident, he got home and had to un-glue Amu's fingers. Even as his thoughts turned towards her, he felt sick again.

He had just hurried into the studio to get away from what was happening outside. Up-beat music was blasting out of speakers while everyone danced around.

Including Tadase dancing with Amu.

Ikuto had never seen her laugh like that. It made his insides churn, which resulted in him sitting here, with Nikaidou.

The man could just peer over his glasses at the younger boy sitting across from him. Should he say something, or not? "Are you not feeling well?" he asked timidly, scared that Ikuto would try to attack him. He had never managed to get over his phobia of that blue-haired boy. He didn't even know what it was about Ikuto that he found so terrifying.

Ikuto shook his head. "I'm not sick, I'm angry." he replied.

Nikaidou furrowed his eyebrows, taking a closer look at Ikuto. His complexion seemed a little off. "You look like you're in pain from being deeply hurt." he observed while resting his chin in his palm.

"I'm not in pain, and I haven't been hurt." Ikuto muttered. "I'm just . . . startled, I guess."

Nikaidou ran his hand through his tangled hair, trying not to seem to bothersome. Even if he was scared of the boy, he still wanted to help him. He had never seen Ikuto like this, not to mention, he hadn't even talked to Ikuto this much. Usually it was an exchange of one or two words, then their conversation was done.

"... I thought you said you were angry." he pointed out.

"I'm angry because I was startled."

"Aaah." Nikaidou said in reply as he nodded. "So, you were startled, then got mad, so now you're in pain." he observed, feeling proud of himself for coming up with such an analogy.

Ikuto only glared at him.

"So scary. . . " Nikaidou whispered while inching away from the boy and resuming to look through the pictures in front of him.

A sigh coming from Ikuto made him look back up. "No, you're right. As much as I don't want to admit it. . . " Ikuto exhaled loudly while leaning back in his seat. "I was startled to see her like that, angry that someone else was with her, and after seeing it, I felt . . . pain."

Ikuto looked over at the man sorting through pictures, glad that he wasn't really paying attention to what he had just said.

"I think today's photos turned out very well." Nikaidou stated proudly. "But, now... I have to find a good one of Amu-chan."

Ikuto was about to get up and leave the room, when something that the middle-aged man said caught his attention. "She's still doing the piggy-nose? I wonder if it actually works . . . " the man said to himself.

Upon closer inspection of the photo Nikaidou was looking at, Ikuto sat down beside him, also looking at the picture. "What is that?!" Ikuto demanded angrily while snatching the photo of Amu pushing her nose up.

"Wh-what?"

"What is that stupid nose thing? Amu does it all the time!" Ikuto exclaimed, knowing Nikaidou had some information that Ikuto was missing.

"Oh, that." Nikaidou began while feeling his heartbeat. Stupid young person nearly gave him a heart attack. "I told her that whenever she's with the person she likes and feels like she can't control her exploding heart, then she should push on her nose."

Ikuto nearly dropped the picture as his eyes widened. "What?"

Nikaidou sighed deeply. "Yeah, I'm guessing Tadase-kun was nearby . . ."

"When she's with who she likes . . . " Ikuto repeated in a voice barely audible. Then, if she liked Tadase, why was it that she had pushed on her nose so often while with Ikuto?

Like when he was creating a plan for Amu to confess her feelings, and she was doing the piggy-nose when he turned around to look at her. Also, when they were filming the music video and Ikuto was throwing leaves at her, not to mention just a few days ago when he was helping her get the glue off of her fingers.

"If she only does that around who she likes . . .then . . ." Ikuto's eyes widened as he remembered what Amu had told him just recently. After scolding her about keeping the fact that she liked Tadase, a secret from him, she had replied by saying, "Is it that bad to like someone? It's harder than it seems when you don't expect them to like you back and you try your best to keep it a secret from them."

Ikuto groaned while rubbing his face. It was so clear now. She never did like Tadase, it was always him. _"Just ignore my presence! You can't see anything clearly and you don't know anything at all!" Amu yelled_. She was right. He didn't know anything.

"Ah, knowing you, I'm sure you gave her heck for making that nose." Nikaidou remarked with a laugh as he placed all the pictures back in a pile.

Without responding, Ikuto hurried out of the room, towards the change room. He grabbed hold of Amu's bag and dumped out the contents, searching for the lock necklace. She hadn't been wearing it at all lately, making Ikuto think that she didn't like it anymore. But, did she still have it? If so, then Ikuto would be convinced that this feeling he had was correct.

He picked it up and nearly kicked himself for being so blind. There were small traces of glue on it. The special thing she was gluing that night was the necklace. Then, the reason she hadn't been wearing it was because she didn't want to break it again.

"How could I have not seen earlier?" He asked himself quietly.

Slowly he began walking out the door, to where everyone else was. The dancing and music had stopped. Everybody was getting ready to go. That's when he saw her. She was staring up at the stars.

It was weird how he saw her differently now. She liked him. It wasn't that of a fan, either. Ikuto was used to be liked by fans all over the world, but not truly being liked in a different way.

"Amu, can I talk to you?" Ikuto asked, not really knowing how he'd bring up the subject.

Amu looked away from the night sky and over to Ikuto, giving him a confused look. "Yeah, sure." The others around them looked impatient, clearly wanting to go home.

"I'll bring Amuto home with me, you guys can go." Ikuto said in reply to their looks.

Kukai sent them a wary glance then shrugged, not minding the fact that he got to go home and sleep after this tiring day. Posing for thousands of pictures got boring after the first hour.

Ikuto made sure they were alone before looking back at Amu. "I'm . . . the one you like, aren't I?" he asked slowly. That was his problem – he was too straightforward for his own good and didn't seem to notice if there was a feeling of awkwardness in the air.

Amu looked down at the grass beneath her, remaining silent. It was about time he had realized it. "I-I know it'll just be weird and bothersome. I'll try to stop if you want me to." she replied quietly.

Ikuto furrowed his eyebrows while watching the girl. Why would it be weird or bothersome? "Amu, I'm loved over the world by my fans. I don't mind if you also like me." he then chuckled. "If you prefer, then I'll give you permission to like me."

The pinkette's hopes began to rise. He wouldn't mind? "B-but won't it make you feel bad? Or won't you be troubled?"

She had weird opinions and outlooks on things, Ikuto noted. How liking someone would make them feel bad, he'd never know. "I admit that I am surprised, but it's not a bad thing. It won't trouble me to let you join as a fan in one of my fan clubs." he reassured.

Words couldn't describe how relieved Amu was. She worried that if Ikuto knew about her liking him, it would bring trouble to him. It was an odd thought, but she couldn't get rid of it. But, now, he was allowing her to. Even if it was liking him just as a fan, she was thankful.

"Th-thank you, Ikuto, for letting me like you." she said gratefully. Now she didn't have to worry about hiding how she felt, or him finding out, or about the outcome of what would happen if he found out.

"Amu, come here." Ikuto said with an outstretched hand.

Amu slowly walked closer to him, confused as she shook his hand. "Welcome to the fan club." he said with a smirk before pulling her closer to him and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"Don't get the wrong idea, this is just because you're a … special fan. You should feel honored." he stated stoically before hiding a smile as she hugged him back.

Amu had to admit that she was relieved with this outcome. It wasn't dramatic, depressing, or terribly weird. It was . . . well, just right.

* * *

The ticking of the clocks was starting to get to him. Echoing in his mind and making his head hurt. Tsukasa told him to keep up with the fan mail and to respond to the e-mails, but this was just too much.

The blue-haired boy groaned as he rubbed his face, sending out another message to some unknown person on his fan website. There were too many of them. He made a mental note to remember to keep up with responding to all the messages, or he'd fall behind like this again.

Yawning, Ikuto scanned out of boredom through the list of newest members who had joined, then stopped once seeing a certain user name, called 'pig-rabbit'.

"Eh? Did she _actually _join the official fan club?" What an odd girl.

An idea suddenly struck him as he clicked on her user name, typing out a message for her.

_You need to pass a test before officially becoming a member – Anonymous._

He smirked while waiting for her response, no longer feeling tired.

_Okay, what are the questions? - Pig-Rabbit_

She had fallen into his trap. Now, he could see just how much she liked him.

_On a scale of 1-10, how much do you know about Tsukiyomi Ikuto? - Anonymous_

_7 – Pig-Rabbit_

Ikuto scoffed out loud. "Only seven? I would've felt better if she had said nine." he muttered to himself while typing another question.

_Enter your score for how cool you think Tsukiyomi Ikuto is – Anonymous_

Even Ikuto thought it was a lame question, but it'd be entertaining to see how she responded.

_5 – Pig-Rabbit_

"Five. Five!? I'm only average?" Ikuto questioned out of disbelief. Soon enough, he was on a typing rampage, desperate to get a score higher than seven. He failed miserably, getting more sevens and fours.

"Two points. Two." he said dramatically while staring at the screen with his jaw dropped.

According to the calculations Ikuto quickly did, the average score was a five. Right in the middle. He decided he'd ask one last question to see what the overall score would be, and if she was worthy enough to join the club.

He groaned loudly while raking a hand through his hair. "This is somehow more nerve-wracking than when I participated in my first violin competition." He wouldn't allow Amu's score to get below five.

_Last question: How much do you like Tsukiyomi Ikuto, on a scale of 1-10 - Anonymous_

It was like the climax of a thriller movie. Everyone sat at the edge of their seat biting their nails while waiting for the monster to jump out from around the corner.

Ikuto sat with his eyes closed, hands folded in his lap as he took calming breaths. It was amazing how intense this was.

The small noise of the alert, telling Ikuto he had a new message, made his eyes snap open, slowly clicking on the message and pulling his hand quickly back as if the computer was a poisonous snake.

Once reading the message, Ikuto pursed his lips together to hide his smile, but failed miserably. After a punch to the air and a satisfied sigh, Ikuto picked up the stuffed pig-rabbit sitting on his desk next to him and gave it a hug. Oddly enough, he overcame his fear of rabbits on this night.

_100! - Pig-Rabbit_


	22. Three Words

**Chapter 22**

After all the conversations she had shared with Souko, Saaya was beginning to see the singer in a different light.

Souko had confessed that she was most likely responsible for the death of Tsumugu's wife, saying that she had died alone while giving birth, since Tsumugu was with Souko at the time.

Saaya crossed her legs, staring at the woman sitting across from her. She usually wouldn't have minded to sit in such an expensive hotel room, decorated with all kinds of chandeliers and fancy carpets. The only downside to this, was that she had to talk with Souko, who was still trying to convince her that she and Tsumugu used to be in love.

"The reason we broke up was because of me, but we still loved each other. Midori was just someone he was with after we broke up. Her getting pregnant was a mistake." Souko explained while pouring herself yet another glass of wine.

"My uncle was not that kind of man." Saaya retorted. "And how would an expecting mother be alright with the fact that her husband was cheating on her? She died because of you!" Just the sight of the woman across from her made her sick to her stomach. She was selfish. Saaya knew her uncle, and he would never do that to his wife. He loved her too much.

"That's why I want to make it up to his childre-"

"Oh, yeah? So you can try to take their mother's place?" Saaya retorted, cutting her off. "They're both grown up, why do they need your help now? And your plan is to re-make that song their dad made? Oh, I'm sure they'll be very grateful!" she said sarcastically. "They will be jumping for joy when they hear the song their father wrote for you after abandoning his wife."

Souko gently placed her wine glass back on the coffee table in front of her, continuing to act calm and graceful. "I'm going to give them half of my fortune. Half of everything. That's the least I can do for them . . ."

The room was filled with silence as the minutes passed. Saaya didn't like this woman at all. Sure, she offered to give half of everything she had, but Saaya was sure that the only thing the twins wanted, was their parents.

The Hinamoris weren't money-grabbers. They were kind-hearted, peaceful people who would do anything to help the ones around them. Trying to bribe them with wealth wasn't going to do much good.

"You called the male twin to come join us today, right? Since you can't find his sister." Souko clarified after another drink of wine. One more glass and she would've downed the entire bottle. She looked like a wreck.

"Yes, I did." Saaya replied through a clenched jaw and gritted teeth.

Come to think of it, Amuto should've arrived by now. She had called him about an hour ago, giving him plenty of time to get ready. Poor Amuto. He thought that Souko was just a friend of his father. If he knew the truth . . . Saaya could only imagine what his response would be.

A sudden knock on the door that echoed throughout the room made the two ladies look down the hallway, at the young girl standing in the doorway. "Sorry I'm late . . . " Amu said with an unsure glance around the extravagant room.

Her eyes widened once seeing Souko sitting there. Instantly flashes of what had happened the last time she saw her went through Amu's mind. It was on Ikuto's birthday. The memory left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Ah, you're the Hinamori Amuto! You'd be surprised how many Hinamoris are in Japan." Souko said with a soft, yet radiating smile in Amu's direction.

The pinkette slowly took a seat beside her cousin, folding her hands in her lap. The air seemed tense.

"You are in the same band, so I take it you already know that Tsukiyomi Ikuto is re-making my song?" Souko clarified. "That song . . . was written by your father. I think it would be a shame if everyone had forgotten it already."

Amu slowly looked down at the carpet beneath her shoes, recalling the conversation between Ikuto and his mom on his birthday. She had told him that she wanted the song to remain in her memory as a reminder of her and Tsumugu's love.

"You and my dad . . . were _friends_, right?" she questioned while making sure to say 'friends' clearly. Friends and nothing else.

Souko's sad smile told her differently. "Uh, yes . . . we were friends. I had known him back when he was still a photographer. That's how we met, actually. He was to take pictures at one of my photo shoots. That was before he had started to write songs. The song I want re-made was very important . . . to both of us."

Nodding, Amu thanked her for being such a good friend. Even if she had ulterior motives, this would help people to remember her dad. But, what confused her was when Souko suddenly requested that she kept it a secret that it was her dad who was the writer. Nonetheless, she agreed to it.

"I hope I can meet your younger sister soon. I was told she was here in Japan, and you were in America . . . " Souko said with a quizzical look following shortly after.

"O-oh, something came up and she disappeared suddenly." Amu replied with a nervous laugh. "But, I'm sure you'll meet her soon." In fact, you've already met her. Amu finished in her head.

Saaya suddenly jumped up, pulling Amu along with her. "Well, we should get going, don't you agree, Amuto?" Without letting her answer, the red-head was already pulling her cousin out the door.

Souko watched Amu closely with her delicate eyebrows slanted downwards. There was something odd about that boy. He seemed almost like a . . .

Deciding to test her theory, she stood up quickly and walked over to Amu before she could leave. "Ah, Amuto-kun. Could you please unzip me?" she asked casually while turning around so her back was towards the pinkette.

Amu was confused at first, but laughed and undid the zipper far enough for Souko to be able to reach. "There you go. Zippers at the back are always a pain."

The older blonde turned around and smiled at the girl. "Yes, I agree. I'm about to take a shower, and I always have to fight with my dress." She stood smiling at Amu while she disappeared out the door and down the hallway with her cousin.

Once they were out of sight, Souko slowly closed the door to her hotel room. She stood in silence while listening to the nearby clock ticking away. "No young man would feel comfortable with unzipping a grown woman's dress." she stated surely. Her eyes then slanted downwards in suspicion while looking in the direction of the door. "That's not the boy twin."

* * *

Souko glided through the back door of the studio, her golden hair gently waving to the middle of her back. She had originally arrived here with the hopes of hearing how the new song was going.

However, after speaking with Tsukasa, she had somehow managed to bring up the subject of Hinamori Amuto. Tsukasa seemed pleased and willing to talk about her, letting Souko know that both Ikuto and Amuto were very close, and were in the recording booth.

Which is exactly why she was on her way to the booth right now. She knew her son wasn't close to anyone except for Tadase and Kukai. Only because he had grown up living with Tadase, and he had known Kukai for ages. Why would he suddenly let Amuto into his personal bubble? Unless he already knew about her being a girl.

The woman quietly entered the recording room, staying in the shadows while watching the two people on the other side of the sound-proof glass. Ikuto was sitting at the piano with headphones resting on his neck and Amu was standing next to him, laughing about something, which made Ikuto glare at her.

"I'm kidding." Amu said with a cheeky smile. "But, tonight I'm leaving with Tadase-kun and Kukai. We're going to Osaka with Nikaidou-san. You should come with us!"

Ikuto looked up from the piano and over to Amu. "I have work to do. I'm sure you wouldn't understand, though, since you're always just playing around with those two." Amu merely stuck her tongue out at him. He mirrored her actions before resuming his work.

"I'm sure you secretly want to go!" The pinkette declared while stretching her arms above her and exhaling in satisfaction.

Souko furrowed her eyebrows while watching the two. She couldn't hear what they were talking about, but just by seeing them together, anyone could tell they were close. "If he knew that she's Tsumugu's daughter, he'd ignore her completely and wouldn't even look at her."

She sneakily exited the room once again, leaning against the door as she began plotting. "Wait, no . . . I'll have to tell him after the song's finished. They can't get any closer than they are now. I'll make sure of that."

Without another word escaping her lips, Souko left the building with thoughts still running through her head. She would have to decide when the best day to break the news to Ikuto would be. The day she would tell him that Amu's the daughter of Tsumugu would be the day the relationship between the two of them end.

"Is that why you have a huge suitcase with you?" Ikuto questioned while sending a pointing look in the direction of the suitcase sitting on the bench.

Amu looked shocked. "You noticed it there?" she asked in disbelief.

Ikuto didn't see what was so amazing about that. "No duh, sherlock. That thing's a monster. Aren't you just going for a few hours then coming back later tonight?" he asked out of confusion.

"Oh, no. We might stay for a few days, depending on the weather and how much we get done in one day." Amu replied, making Ikuto's posture go rigid. In a few days, her liking him 100 percent could very well drop down to the 90's. Or even more.

"Really. Hm, good luck surviving there without me, then." He muttered in reply.

Amu laughed at him as she picked up her suitcase. She should've already left to go to the airport already. "Don't forget, my dear Ikuto, everyone else knows I'm a girl. I'm safe with them." she reminded with another witty smile before flinging herself out of the room.

Ikuto sat there in silence with a raised eyebrow. "'My dear Ikuto'?" he repeated with a smirk. "My, my. You've gotten bolder, Amu-chan." But, what would happen if she did start losing points for how much she liked him? After receiving a perfect score, Ikuto definitely wouldn't even settle for a 99.9 if she got back and changed it to that.

Alone in Osaka with Kukai and Tadase. Anything could happen. Kukai could challenge her to another one of those ramen eating contests, and Tadase would definitely continue to pursue her.

The blue-haired boy groaned loudly, rubbing his face in exhaustion. He needed to be getting more sleep nowadays. His schedule was so hectic that he had been sleeping at two in the morning, then waking up at the crack of dawn. Sleep was his friend, he felt as though he was betraying it.

He yawned quietly and glanced at the clock on the wall. With everyone gone, that meant he could sleep more since his schedule would calm down. Then again, he could always go to Osaka with them. But, he hated Osaka. He preferred to stay home.

Another groan escaped his lips. Ah, the complicated choices in life is what made up the future.

After he finished recording the piano part of the song, Ikuto shut off all the lights in the booth and walked out, nearly bumping into Kukai along the way. "Kukai? Shouldn't you be at the airport?" Ikuto asked.

Nikaidou, who was walking a little behind Kukai answered the question for him. "Something came up, forcing Kukai and I to stay here while Tadase and Amu-chan go to Osaka . . . alone." he said the last part with a wink, hoping Ikuto would get the hint.

Oh, right. Nikaidou still thought that Amu liked Tadase.

"Yeah, so I'm stuck with you." Kukai said, obviously depressed by the turn of events.

Ikuto glared at him. "Don't sound too excited." he commented sarcastically before pulling the brunette into a choke hold, ruffling his hair so it was standing up in all different directions.

"H-hey, Ikuto!" Kukai complained, trying to put his hair back to normal while Ikuto just chuckled quietly at him.

His laughter ceased once realizing something. Tadase and Amu were going to Osaka alone. "Crap." he said under his breath. Brushing past Nikaidou, he hurried out into the cold, jumping into his car and starting the engine. He could only hope he'd make it to the airport in time.

He had finally found the answer to the question that had been on his mind for ages. It'd be a waste if he didn't tell her now.

He didn't want to think of what could happen in Osaka. Just the reality of them going together, alone, made Ikuto press harder on the gas. If he didn't make it in time, he could always drive the six hours to meet up with them.

Ikuto tried to hold back a look of disgust. Six valuable hours wasted on driving. It'd be fine if you had nothing else to do, but he was busy. However, if he did have to drive, the outcome would be worth it.

As unbelievable as it seemed, Ikuto found himself drawn to Amu. Just her presence could lighten his mood, especially after an ordeal with his mom. Ikuto didn't believe that it was a mistake that she had to replace Amuto for a few months. It was meant to happen.

He slammed on the brakes, pulling into a parking spot just outside the front doors of the large, Tokyo International Airport. He rushed through the building, the walls around him lined with dozens of windows. One of the disadvantages of being in such an airport was that it wasn't easy to find someone. The place was too big.

Ikuto looked around at the signs telling him where the flights going to Osaka were, ignoring the stares he got from onlookers. He had realized just then that he forgot to wear a disguise. Even the security guards were staring at him in awe.

Without wasting anymore time, he catapulted through the mob of travelers, towards the gate where Amu would be. Just as he arrived, he saw the plane take off of the ground. Even if he had left ten minutes sooner he wouldn't have made it.

Breathing heavily he rested his hands against the window, watching the airplane fly higher into the clouds. He was too late. Now Tadase would do pretty much anything in order to woo Amu.

Ikuto sulkily shoved his hands in his pockets and kept his head bent as he walked back towards the exit, not letting the squeals of fans get to him. Now his only option was to drive. Joy to the world.

He looked up from the ground once figuring he was close enough to the doors, only to stop in his tracks once seeing what was in front of him. Amu. She was standing at the doors, her back to him, but he still knew it was her.

"Amu?" Ikuto called.

The pinkette looked over her shoulder at him with wide eyes. "I-Ikuto. What are you doing here?" she asked softly.

"I could ask you the same thing. Why aren't you on your way to Osaka?"

Amu looked down at her shoes and sighed, recalling what had happened earlier.

**FLASHBACK:**

_Tadase smiled at her while pushing the hair out of Amu's face. "When we arrive . . . should this act be real?" he asked gently as they walked towards the airport. After receiving a confused look from Amu, he continued. "If we start dating for real, then this scam wouldn't be a lie. Maybe... we should both give up on the people who don't like us back, and like each other."_

_To say Amu was shocked would be an understatement. Give up on liking Ikuto? She had just found out that it was okay to like him. There was no way she was willing to stop. Not to mention, no matter how hard she tried, she knew she wouldn't be able to see Tadase as anything more than a friend._

_"Here, I'll go in ahead. If you want to try this idea out, then join me in Osaka. If not, then I'll understand. Don't feel bad if you want to stay here." Tadase comforted. He gave her a small wave before being swallowed up by the herd of people in the airport_.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

"Well . . . I decided that I'll go another time." Amu replied hesitantly. "But, next time it will be with everyone else, also. . . . Oh, but why are you here?"

He was waiting for that. Ikuto walked over to her and tried to ignore the stares of everyone passing by them. People were so nosy these days. Especially when it came to celebrities. "I have something to tell you." Ikuto replied. "I'm going to tell you only once, so you better listen closely." he warned.

With the noisy squeals surrounding them capable of drowning out anything, Ikuto pulled Amu closer to him, leaning over to whisper three words into her ear that only she could hear, before the screams became too loud and Ikuto was pulled into the crowd of fans.

"I like you."


	23. What Beautiful Stars

**Chapter 23**

After hours of research and interview-watching, Ikuto had finally found out who this 'love' of his mom was. Hinamori Tsumugu. The man he hated so much finally had a name.

Immediately, Ikuto set out to find information about this guy, coming across the contact information for the manager he had before he died.

Ikuto found himself sitting across a table from this manager, with Tsukasa sitting beside him, not knowing what it was about Tsumugu that made Ikuto so interested in him.

"Tsumugu-san … he had been dating that famous singer, Souko, for a little while. But, I don't see why they were dating, 'cause Tsumugu was a rather odd person." His manager said thoughtfully, eyebrows slanted as he had to remember everything from the past.

"How so?" Ikuto pressed.

Tsumugu's manager chuckled at a memory before replying to the question. "He was a bit of a drama-queen. Usually humble, and was very protective of his children when they were born."

His mom's boyfriend being a drama-queen was something Ikuto had never expected. It was a funny thought and weird to imagine. "Even though he and Souko broke up, he still wrote that song for her. The one I'm remaking. Did they get back together and he divorced his wife?" Ikuto asked.

None of this made sense. Souko claimed to have a strong relationship with this man, yet he had gotten married to someone else and started a family. It didn't make sense that he would write a song just for Souko, even though he was happy with his family and didn't want to get back together with her.

The manager shook his head. "Souko was meddling with him. She was also seeing a different man at the time while trying to get Tsumugu back. Tsukiyomi Aruto, I believe."

_My dad._ Ikuto thought with a frown. Even though Souko might have been pregnant with him at the time, she was still pursuing another man while in a relationship. It was a despicable thing for her to do. She must have never been satisfied with anyone she was with, seeing as how she was constantly with different men. Ikuto was thankful that he at least knew that his dad was Aruto. He had even gotten a blood test just to make sure.

"Well, thank you for your time, I have to get going." Ikuto said with a bow before Tsukasa started up a conversation with the other manager.

Souko was meddling with Tsumugu's life. Was that song he wrote really dedicated to her? It was hard for Ikuto to believe. All those thoughts were making his head start hurting again. It was almost one in the morning when the 'interview' had finally ended. It was the only time that manager was free to talk.

Ikuto groaned. He had planned to sleep earlier tonight. He entered the lobby and walked up to Amu, who was asleep on one of the chairs. He had specifically asked her to join him, for really no reason at all. The idiot fell asleep, though.

"Hey, Amu." Ikuto called, shaking the girl's shoulder to try to wake her up.

Amu's heavy eyelids lazily opened, covering a yawn as she stretched her arms up. "All done?" she guessed with a tired semi-smile. "Now I can go home and sleep." She began walking out of the studio, only to be held back by Ikuto.

"You're coming with me." he stated.

Amu was confused. "Where are we going?"

* * *

She was tired and wanted to go home to sleep. How Ikuto managed to stay up this late every night was a mystery to her. Amu followed shortly behind Ikuto as they walked through the large, empty movie theater, the floors littered with pieces of popcorn.

"Ikuto, I'm going to fall asleep if we watch a movie!" she said, trying her best not to whine as they stepped into the room where their movie was playing.

Ikuto rolled his eyes while looking over at her. "I only invited you because I can't see well in the dark. You need to guide me." he lied. He actually had perfect night-vision.

"O-oh . . ." Amu replied quietly, feeling her face flush a dark red. She took a step further into the darkness, but stopped once feeling a cold hand grab onto hers. Turning to look at Ikuto, she gave him a confused look.

"I said I needed a guide. It'd be best if you led the way. Don't get the wrong idea, I just wouldn't know where I was going if I wasn't holding onto your hand." Ikuto replied to her look. He felt very pleased with himself for coming up with such a sneaky excuse.

Amu nodded in response, wrapping her fingers around his as she walked slowly into the darkness, giving her eyes a chance to adjust to the sudden change in lighting.

She first chose a seat at the front, but Ikuto had complained, telling her that it was too close to the screen, and that he'd have to hurt his neck to watch the movie. So, they went to the back. Another complaint came out of Ikuto. In the end, they winded up in the middle.

Ikuto was so stubborn sometimes, but Amu didn't care right now, she just wanted to sleep. The whole purpose of her coming here was to basically be his seeing-eye dog, so she was allowed to sleep through the whole movie.

It wasn't even half-way into the movie when Ikuto also fell asleep. They were leaning on each other for support during their slumber, still unknowingly holding hands.

They were both glad the movie was two hours long. It gave them enough time to have a refreshing nap. When it was over, Ikuto woke up first, then woke up Amu, acting as if he was awake the whole time.

"Was it good?" Amu asked as they walked out of the theater, into the cold, mid-December air. She yawned and zipped up her jacket, throwing a scarf around her neck to keep warm.

"Uh … it wasn't bad." Ikuto replied. Truthfully he had no idea what had happened in the movie since he was sleeping. The only part he remembered was the beginning credits. He turned away from Amu so he could quickly rub his eyes to make him feel fully awake and not have that post-sleeping feeling to him.

Amu sighed heavily while staring up at the starry, dark sky. She wanted so badly to tell Ikuto that she knew about the relationship between him and Souko. She felt like she was deceiving him by not saying anything. Glancing to her side, she watched Ikuto do up his jacket, not noticing her eyes on him. She had to find the right time to tell him.

Amu smiled while continuing to watch the stars. They had the power to make you feel better. "When my brother gets back and I go back to my old life, I'm going to start a collection of stars." she decided aloud.

An odd look was given to her from Ikuto. "Why?" he asked as he rubbed his hands together to keep them warm.

"... They remind me of you..." the pinkette answered truthfully with a light blush coloring her face. Ikuto smirked and shook his head before also looking up at the sky.

A sinking feeling soon found its way to Amu's stomach as she looked at him. He was so close, but since she knew she would be leaving far away in just a short amount of time, it made him appear unreachable. So close yet so far.

Amu felt blessed to be able to be with him. Ikuto was loved everywhere by his fans, who would probably do anything just to see him in person. Whereas Amu could see him whenever she wanted.

That was another thing she was going to miss. The real Amuto would be returning in a week or so, taking her place. She would then join the rest of the world, only being able to wish she was next to Ikuto.

Ikuto suddenly looked away from the stars and over to her, that familiar smirk still in tact. "Amu, come here. I have some stars I want to show you."

Amu obliged, taking a few steps closer to him.

He then pushed the long sleeves of his dark jacket up to his elbows, showing his surprisingly muscular forearm beneath his light skin. He bent his elbow, balling his hand into a fist. "If I hit you with this, I'm sure you'll see lots of stars." he stated. "Let's give it a try!"

The pinkette's shoes seemed to be glued to the cement below her. He was going to hit her?! She didn't like stars _that_ much!

She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it quickly while squeezing her eyes shut as his knuckle came closer to her. Instead of feeling the blow to her face, she felt him take her face in his hands before his soft lips pressed against hers.

Amu couldn't even respond. She was too surprised. Ikuto always seemed to catch her by surprise, making it all seem like a dream.

He parted from her, continuing to hold her face as he smirked at her reaction. "Now are you seeing stars, or are those fireworks going off in your head?" he teased before kissing her again.

It took a moment, but she kissed him back willingly. And, yes, to answer his question, they were fireworks to celebrate.

Ikuto was the last person she thought she'd ever kiss. When they had first met, he was cold, didn't talk much, and found Amu unbearably annoying. Yet, now, two months later, they stood under the starry sky, kissing, feeling closer than ever.

* * *

Whistling as he went along, Kukai jumped up the stairs to the sun deck while inhaling the crisp, morning air of winter. Though there was no snow on the ground, it was cold enough for him.

He was about to walk inside, when a shape out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Slowly he turned fully around, lifting an eyebrow once seeing the shape was Hoshina Utau, sitting on a nearby bench. Why she was here, Kukai had no idea.

Slowly walking over to her, it didn't take long for him to realize she was crying. Even if it was soft crying, it got on Kukai's nerves. Women crying was his weakness. Even at the sight of tears he'd quickly grab an ice cream to cheer them up. He doubted it would work in this situation though. Utau was rather stubborn and kept to herself.

Exhaling loudly, the brunette dropped on the bench next to Utau. "Nice day, don't you think?" He questioned with a soft smile. Might as well clear the atmosphere first.

The puffy-eyed blonde just glared at him while muttering insults under her breath. "Leave me alone, little kid." she hissed.

"Little kid...?" Kukai repeated with his jaw dropped. He wasn't that little. Sure, he was about a year younger than her, but that didn't give her the right to call him that. "Cheer up, old lady. It's not the end of the world."

Just like he planned, she snapped. "I'm not an old lady, you stupid boy! And yes, it is the end of the world! I lost the person I love to a cross-dresser! A cross-dresser!" she yelled, nearly trembling the ground in the meantime.

Kukai could only guess she was talking about Ikuto. Who would've thought she actually liked him and wasn't pretending? But, he knew how she felt.

Even though Kukai did have a small crush on Amu, he wasn't blind. Of course he saw that she and Ikuto liked each other. That's why both he and Tadase had decided to just let her be. Even if it didn't make either of them happy, it was for the best.

"I know the feeling . . ." Kukai admitted as he looked out at the white, puffy clouds. "Not the whole 'cross-dresser' thing though. But, I personally think that if you truly loved someone who didn't love you, you should let them go, and if it was just a crush, then it would be an easy thing to do."

"It's not easy." Utau huffed under her breath.

Kukai chuckled as he looked over at the blonde sitting beside him. "Have you even tried?" he pointed out. The question made the blonde think, which was what he was aiming for. If she really did love Ikuto, she'd want what was best for him. What would make him happy.

Utau then turned to the younger boy with determination in her eyes. "Well, let's say, hypothetically, that a girl likes a guy, who likes a cross-dresser. What's the girl to do to get over him? Or even forget about him. It would be hard, right? Hypothetically, of course."

The brunette had to laugh at this game she had begun. "I'm guessing the girl should be surrounded by her friends at a time like this and if she really wanted, then she should find someone new to like. If not, then admiring nature is always a way to get your mind off of things." he replied, knowing that everything he had suggested had worked for him. "Hypothetically." he added with a grin.

"'Like someone new'?" Utau repeated with a scoff following shortly after as she stood up, off of the bench and began walking away. She then turned around to look at the boy who was about to walk back inside. "Hey, kid... thanks." she said before hurrying away.

Kukai chuckled at the girl before shaking his head and stepping into the warm house. She wasn't so heartless after all.

* * *

A sigh escaped Ikuto's lips as he paced his room, clutching a necklace in his hand. Not just any necklace, a star necklace.

Seeing as how the lock necklace he had given Amu was almost always either breaking or getting lost, he figured giving her an expensive, star one would make her take better care of it. She did, after all, love stars so much.

After many hours thinking of it, Ikuto had figured out why. Amu viewed him as a star – her favorite one – because of his name meaning, and because . . . well, he hadn't found out the other reason, yet. But, he also knew that when she would leave back to where she came from, she'd be without her star.

A star necklace was the only way to go.

But, now, the only thing he was thinking of was how to give it to her without looking like a fruit-cake. Ahh, girls were confusing.

His thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing, making him nearly jump out of his skin at the sudden noise. He answered it while trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.

"I'm going to meet Tsumugu's daughter. You should come over here to see her, too." Souko said on the other line. Ikuto could tell she was pleased by the sound of her voice. It made him disgusted.

"No, thanks. You can become that kid's mother if you want, I don't care." Ikuto replied through gritted teeth, about to hang up when he stopped at the next thing his mom said.

"You know who the person is."

He figured she was just saying that to make him interested, so he decided to test her. "Really, now? And what is this persons' name?" he asked while placing the necklace back in his pocket and sitting down on his bed.

There was a long silence before Souko replied, "Her name is Hinamori Amu."

Ikuto nearly dropped his phone.

------------------------------------------------- **MEANWHILE **---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amu stepped out of the hotel elevator with a feeling in the pit of her stomach that resembled battery acid. She was back here to speak with Souko.

Just earlier that day, she was with Tsukasa in the recording booth, when she had over-heard him talking with one of his assistants about the new song Ikuto had recently finished recording. The one that Souko had urged him to do.

This wasn't new information to Amu. She already knew that it was her dad that wrote the song. She had also decided to tell Ikuto later that night about how her dad was the writer, and that she knew that Souko was his mom.

However, Tsukasa and his assistant's conversation progressed into something different. It got onto the topic about how Tsumugu and Souko had dated in the past. Apparently, they had been inseparable at one point. So inseparable that on the day that Tsumugu's wife was giving birth to their twins, he wasn't with her. He was off with Souko somewhere. Tsukasa had then commented that it was tragic how not only did Midori have to give birth alone, but also died alone in the process.

This all is what provoked Amu to come back here. She couldn't believe Souko had lied to her and said she was just friends with her dad. It was because of her that Amu's mom had died alone, thinking her husband no longer loved her and that she would have to raise her children by herself.

It made Amu feel sick. She had to get to the bottom of it.

She wasn't all that surprised when Souko immediately let her into the hotel room. Amu had called just minutes before to tell her that she needed to talk, just so she didn't seem rude about this whole thing when Souko found her barging into her room.

Amu was told to have a seat, but refused to do so. She wanted to make this a quick visit consisting of getting the facts, then leaving to tell Ikuto the truth. To tell him that she knew about his past and was sorry that she hadn't told him earlier.

"Please let me know the truth of what your relationship with my father was." Amu said quietly while trying not to sound like she was pleading her to do so.

Souko looked up at the girl with a some-what mocking look on her face. She didn't like this pink-haired girl. She was _that woman's_ daughter. Not to mention, Amu was getting closer to her son. She wouldn't allow that. "I guess you could call it true love. We loved each other so much that we couldn't stand to be apart for even a second."

The pinkette had to take a few calming breaths before replying to the woman. "You loved each other so much that my dad left my mom, and you left … Ikuto?" she clarified.

This caught Souko off-guard. "You knew that Ikuto's my son?"

"I know that you had left and hurt the person you should have kept closer than anyone else. Especially since he was so young." Amu replied. "I don't believe that a person like you could ever love anyone. That's not true love."

Souko sputtered a humorless laugh while crossing her arms and trying to appear unaffected. "That's exactly what your mother said. It's funny, since she didn't think your father would come back to me."

"I don't believe he would either." Amu defended. "I don't think my father would ever love someone who could abandon others recklessly and treat people like dirt."

For the first time in so long, Amu felt herself getting angry at someone she barely knew. This person had hurt everyone Amu treasured dearly. Ikuto, and even her parents. It was only a matter of time before Souko decided to deeply hurt her brother, Amuto.

"I don't care if you don't believe me," Souko replied with a careless wave, "That song Ikuto had just completed is a proof of your fathers love for me. He had written it in hopes of calling me back to him. Just listen to the lyrics when Ikuto sings it in your upcoming concert, and you'll see I'm right. Oh, speaking of Ikuto, you know, if Tsumugu hadn't died so early, I would've become your mother. Ikuto knows that, too. Just think of what his reaction will be when he sees that you're the one who would be replacing him. You haven't even told him yet that you're Tsumugu's daughter, have you?"

Jackpot. Souko had made it quite clear to Amu that Ikuto would hate her after telling him the truth. Not only did Souko already care more about Tsumugu's children than she did about Ikuto, she would be willing to take in Amu and Amuto as replacement children, completely forgetting about Ikuto. It was bad enough that Amu was the daughter of the man Ikuto hated the most.

"Have you even told him that you know he's my son?" Souko pressed on with that famous smirk Ikuto always had.

"I-I never wanted to deceive hi-"

"Then, why don't you tell that to his face? See if he believes you."

Almost as if it was planned, the door to the hotel room swung open, followed by the sound of footsteps walking towards them. The footsteps halted a few feet behind where Amu was standing.

Trying to hold back her tears, Amu slowly turned around, already knowing who would be standing there.

In the few months Amu had known him, she had never seen Ikuto's eyes hold that much pain as he stared at her and she stared back.

He knew everything.


	24. Incomplete

**Kate: Before you spazz out and get mad at me, I do have a few things to say in defense for why I haven't updated in a few days. In the midst of beta-reading other peoples' stories, as well as keeping my straight-A grades in stupid school :( , including writing my speech, presenting it to my english class, then making it to the next level, then saying it again, then making it to the district semi-finals - which I am now waiting for that to come around so it can be over- and still having enough time to write this chapter - That is just crazy. I'M SORRY T_T**

**Chapter 24**

Gazing out the window at the streets the hospital towered over was something he had been doing a lot lately. Despite the fact that he could walk around if he wanted, he would rather sit at his window and observe things that would usually escape his attention.

Ever since having his eye surgery, Amuto began noticing how grateful he was for his eye-sight. Without it, he wouldn't have been able to see that young child help a lost dog, one boy chase after his girl, or a newly-wed couple walk down the streets together.

Amuto had to smile at all the sights. Young love was always a beautiful thing. If it lasted, that is. Realizing how weird he was acting, he turned away from the window, smiling at the nurse as she walked into the room holding a clipboard.

These American people weren't all that bad, despite everything Amuto had heard about them. The nurses actually took time to answer any questions you had. Then again, they might have only been treating Amuto nicely since he was obviously a Japanese boy, and not from America. It was during this experience that he was thankful for taking English lessons in high school.

"Mr. Hinamori, we got your test results right here," the polite nurse with a pearly-smile said while handing Amuto some papers. "They came back excellent, telling us that your eyes have fully recovered and you can go back to Japan whenever you would like."

After scanning the sheets quickly, Amuto looked up at the lady and smiled, making the young nurse feel like melting. "Thank you very much." he said gratefully.

Once he was alone in the room again, the boy turned back to the window and peered up at the fluffy, white clouds in the sky above him. He was finally able to leave the hospital. He could go home to Tokyo and meet his band members.

* * *

Everything seemed to be happening at the same time. It was all going wrong. It was as if the air supply had been cut, making it hard to even breath. Amu couldn't believe what was happening.

She had planned to tell Ikuto everything she knew, but just hours before, she was found out, and it went entirely wrong. She followed Ikuto back to the house in a frenzy, trying to make him listen. At this moment, his stubbornness didn't come in handy for Amu. However, it did for Souko – who didn't want them to be together.

"Ikuto, please listen to what I have to say!" Amu pleaded, pulling Ikuto's arm and forcing him to stop. They were now standing on the sun-deck. Boy, did this place hold many memories. It seemed that if you were either in love or in hate, everything would take place on this deck.

Ikuto stopped walking, turning around to face Amu. His eyes seemed to bore holes through her head as he spoke. "Let me ask you, when did you know about my mother?" he asked in an icy tone.

That's the question she dreaded most. She had known for so long, she should have mentioned something earlier. "...S-since your birthday..." Amu replied softly, watching his expression change ever so slightly.

"You've known for this long..?" Ikuto questioned quietly before scoffing and rolling his eyes. "So, that's why you were always around to make me feel better when things were complicated with my mother. Then, when did you know that it was your father's song I was remaking?"

"Just recentl-"

"And ever since then you've been meeting with my mom?"

Amu stared down at her shoes as she nodded, too ashamed to look him in the eye. How did it get down to this? Everything was going so well, yet things of the past had their way of ruining whatever they wanted.

"Seeing that you and my mom are buddies already, I'm sure you also knew that my mom loved your dad so much... that she abandoned me and set off to become _your_ mom." Ikuto stated coldly. "I heard that when you were younger, she used to babysit you and bake all kinds of things with you. Funny how you were more like her child than I was."

She didn't remember that. She must've been too young at the time. It was when she was three or four that her dad had died, then she and her brother were sent to the orphanage. Amu didn't know that she had already met Souko before, so many years earlier. To be honest, she didn't blame Ikuto for being upset about that. It was as if Amu had just taken his place. In all honesty, she did. Instead of Souko being with Ikuto, she was always with Amu and Amuto.

Seeing as how Amu wasn't saying anything more, Ikuto continued. "Whatever, it doesn't matter to me. You can become her child if you want, just don't involve me."

"Ikuto, please let me explain!"

Turning to face the door and placing his hand on the handle, the next thing he said cut through Amu more than she could have imagined. "Don't be where I can see you. You're the last person I want to see."

He stepped into the house, closing the door behind him and advancing up the stairs, where he locked himself up in his room. Leaning against the wall, Ikuto sunk down to the floor and rested his forehead in his hand. She just had to be the daughter of the man he hated the most. If it wasn't for her, he might have lived a normal childhood with a mom who didn't ditch him for the kids of someone else.

Perhaps it wouldn't have hurt as much if Amu had told him earlier about her knowing of his relationship with Souko. Since she kept that a secret from him, who knows what else she didn't tell him.

* * *

The next few days passed by frighteningly quick for Amu, who hadn't slept a bit. Today was the day the band was going on a three day tour to Canada. No idea why they would be going there of all places, but Nikaidou figured it was a beautiful place that not many people would think of going for a vacation. Which obviously meant there was nothing to do there.

Amu wasn't dreading the trip, but the fact that the day they returned to Japan would be the day her brother came back. They'd meet up at the airport, he'd take her place, and she'd go back to the church.

The kajillion hours spent on the airplane dragged on for longer than it should have. Even though the band was in a private jet, Amu couldn't get comfortable no matter which way she sat or lay on her seat.

Ikuto had taken a separate plane ahead of them. Kukai claimed it was because he was sulking, but Amu figured it was mostly because he just didn't want to see her.

Tadase, who was sitting beside Amu, looked at her oddly once again. Her eyes were slightly puffy and bloodshot, a mixture of lack-of-sleep and too much crying. "Hinamori-san … is everything okay?" he asked softly so no one else could hear.

He doubted anyone could, but just in case. Nikaidou and Yukari were arguing over the card game 'Uno', while Kukai was acting like the referee and trying to call a time-out.

The pinkette looked away from the sight in front of her, and over to the blonde sitting next to her. Just seeing him made her want to pour out her guts to him. To tell him everything she was feeling and going through.

"W-well... I..."

"It's about Ikuto, isn't it?" Tadase guessed, chuckling softly once seeing Amu's expression change from tired, to alert.

"Wh-what makes you say that?" she asked while fiddling with a string hanging off of her black hoodie. She didn't want to seem that transparent. If she could hide what she was feeling, then hopefully she wouldn't burden others.

Tadase thought for a moment, then replied by saying, "Well... your eyes look as though you were either crying for hours or pulled an all-nighter. I think it's about Ikuto, because you haven't spoken a word to each other for days. Not to mention, he specifically took a separate plane. Express yourself, I don't mind."

He had the power to comfort others, that was for sure.

She didn't know if she wanted to express herself at the moment, though. She felt as if she was just burdening him by doing so. "Um … well... Ikuto just found out that I'm somehow connected to his past, and I guess you could say it's not exactly in a good way."

Tadase nodded, understanding as his lips pressed into a thin line. "I see. Yeah... Ikuto has always been … cold when it came to talking about his past. When he came to live with my family when he was seven, he didn't talk much, instead he'd stay in his room all day either sleeping or writing violin music."

This caught Amu's attention. "Ikuto plays the violin?" It was surprising that he could write music at such a young age. She didn't doubt that Souko had probably made him go to lessons in order to improve his musical knowledge.

"Well, he used to." Tadase replied with a frown. He gazed down at the glass of water in his hands, twirling the straw around his fingers as he continued. "The violin belonged to his dad... and his dad left when he was younger. After he had moved in with us, he didn't play the violin anymore. He'd only write music for it."

Tadase sighed before changing the subject. "So, he's upset over something that happened ages ago that you two basically had no control over? What an idiot." he muttered with a soft chuckle and a shake of the head.

The pinkette slowly looked down and remained silent. Tadase had a point, but what had happened to Ikuto was something that no one would be able to forget. Not to mention, Souko made it a point to remind Ikuto of his past every time they spoke.

"A-ah, Hinamori-san!" Tadase exclaimed, quickly grabbing a tissue and handing it to Amu. It was then that she realized she had started crying again. "I-I'm so sorry!" she apologized quickly as she sniffled and hurriedly wiped her eyes.

The blonde gave his friend a reassuring pat on the back as he smiled uneasily at her. "You know … I don't think you should cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. Okay?"

Even though he still had feelings for her, Tadase figured that he'd help her and Ikuto out anyway. He shouldn't be selfish and try to win her feelings, when she clearly liked someone else better.

As long as his best friend and the girl he loved was happy, that was enough for him. Sure, it'd hurt, but seeing the happy would be worth it, he hoped.

Another voice entering the conversation halted any further words either of them might have wanted to share. "Guys, we're here." Kukai announced, clearly out of breath from keeping Yukari and Nikaidou from killing each other.

"Yeah.. well I bet that you put down two cards instead of one!" Nikaidou retorted as he pointed an accusing finger at Yukari while walking out of the jet.

The more mature adult simply rolled her eyes, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she walked ahead of the over-dramatic man. "Just admit it, Nikaidou, you lost." she said with a wave before walking into the airport.

Deciding to come up with a new topic, Nikaidou glanced around the small airport's lobby, not seeing Ikuto anywhere in sight. "Where's Ikuto? He should've been here by now." The man then gasped dramatically as he clutched his face in fear. "Don't tell me – his plane crashed!?"

Yukari rolled her eyes and smacked him over the head. "You're such an idiot. Ikuto didn't even come. ...Wait a minute... he told you he was going to go ahead, didn't he? I can't see how you believed him!" she said with a laugh. "Oh, then again... you're dumb that way."

Nikaidou gave her a warning look as they got everyone's suitcases together and piled them onto a trolley, wheeling it out to the limo in the parking lot. "So, he's still in Japan?" he clarified.

"Yup. He claimed he had some things to do and didn't want to waste his time on a useless trip... obviously he's pissed off about something." Yukari replied with a shrug before waving the band members over to join them at the limo. "Which is a shame, really. I had planned to properly match him up with Amu-chan."

This made Nikaidou nearly choke on the oxygen he had just inhaled. "What? Why Amu-chan and Ikuto? She likes Tada-"

"You are such an idiot. You barely had any evidence before you decided to tell everyone that she apparently liked Tadase. She's liked Ikuto this whole time." Yukari hissed quietly so the band members wouldn't hear. She and Nikaidou sat at one end of the limo while everyone else sat at the other. Since they were all chatting amongst themselves, it was safe to have this conversation here, as long as they were quiet.

"Hmm... if we set it up right... we could make them newly-weds!" Nikaidou announced, still in a hushed tone as he smiled brightly.

Yukari opened her mouth to scold him out of habit, but closed it again as she thought of it. "...When it comes to marriage... it's weird to picture Ikuto in that situation. Amu should have someone with humor... like Kukai!"

----- IMAGINATION TIME. YAY-----

Amu and Kukai frolicked through a field of daisies, hand-in-hand with goofy smiles plastered on their faces, along with stars in their eyes as they stared at each other lovingly.

At random, they suddenly had a bowl of ice cream appear out of nowhere. Of course, being the adorable couple they were, they decided to share it between them.

"Say 'ahh'!" Kukai said while holding the spoon out in front of Amu.

She did as she was told and took a bite of the ice cream, giggling along with Kukai afterwards.

"You're so cuuuute!" Kukai exclaimed while pinching Amu's cheeks. "No, you're cuterrr!" Amu insisted while also pinching his cheeks.

----END OF IMAGINATION. YAY-----

Almost instantly, Yukari and Nikaidou shook their heads at the thought. That relationship would be too immature. Too... weird and unbalanced.

Perhaps... they should let her be with Tadase, after all. Because really, there couldn't be anything wrong with that. They were adorable together. So romantic and realistic.

----IMAGINATION. YAY---

Listening to the songs of the chirping birds, Amu sat beneath a cherry-blossom tree, slowly creating a picture of the clouds floating above her. Everything was peaceful and perfect. Now all that was missing was...

"I'm back, my love." Tadase announced with a smile as he walked over to her with a cup of tea in his hand.

"I was starting to miss you!" Amu replied with a pout, accepting the tea he handed her. She gently blew on it while looking over at Tadase affectionately, blushing once they made eye-contact, then quickly looked away.

"That tea was made with all my love poured into it. You'll never taste something sweeter, my dear." The blonde said while caressing the pinkette's face, leaning in for a kis-

----END OF IMAGINATION-----

"Oh gosh, that's disturbing!" Nikaidou exclaimed as he rubbed his face as a way to wipe away his thoughts. This got a few glances from Kukai and Tadase, who soon after resumed talking with Amu.

Yukari hit him. "What are you talking about? It's romantic!"

Nikaidou snorted out a laugh. He opened the door of the vehicle, stepping out into the cool, winter air and beginning to unload the trunk with Yukari while everyone else went into the hotel to find their rooms.

"It's not romantic, it's just like elementary school students who have a crush on each other. Stupid and just downright … stupid. They think they're in love, when it's really just infatuation." The man replied, his voice strained as he heaved the heavy baggage out of the limo.

The woman beside him simply rolled her eyes again. "It's better than her being with that stingy Ikuto!" she defended while following him up the steps, into the hotel lobby.

Nikaidou had to nod in agreement. Words couldn't explain how shocked he was when Yukari told him it was Ikuto Amu had liked this whole time. Who would choose the cold Ikuto over the bubbly Kukai and romantic Tadase? The world didn't always make sense.

"Well... what would that be like?" He asked after checking in at the front desk.

Yukari remained silent as they walked into the elevator, both of them picturing what life would be like in the future if Amu and Ikuto really did end up together.

---IMAGINATION TIME---

Amu stood wearing a flowing white, wedding dress with her hair in loose curls that framed her face. She held a bouquet of flowers in her hands as she gazed across from her, at her future husband.

"Amu, I'm allowing you to marry me. So, you better feel honored." Ikuto muttered as he crossed his arms, looking just downright bored.

"Thank you! Say... should I call you 'hubby' or 'dear'?" Amu asked happily.

Ikuto shot her a warning look. "I decide what you will call me. Got it?" Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked out of the empty cathedral, leaving Amu at the alter feeling very confused.

She quickly ran after him, nearly tripping over her dress in the meantime. "I-Ikuto, where are you going?"

"I have a busy schedule... leave me alone."

"What kind of wedding ceremony is this?" Amu scoffed as she threw her bouquet to the grass in front of Ikuto. "I'm not going to get married to you!" she huffed threateningly while crossing her arms and lifting her chin in the air stubbornly.

Ikuto just shrugged and walked away. "Fine."

This made the pinkette's jaw drop, hurrying after him once again. "W-wait, I'm sorry! Take me with you!"

---END OF IMAGINATION---

The two polar opposites stood in silence, snapping out of their trance once the elevator bell let them know that the doors were now opening.

"Well... Ikuto always has to have things his way..." Nikaidou pointed out as he slowly walked down the hallway with Yukari, who nodded in agreement, both of them stopping in their tracks once reaching Kukai's hotel room. Their first stop to deliver the luggage.

"You know... the more I think of it... I really do think Ikuto is the best match for her." Yukari shared honestly with a shrug. "They just... complete each other in a weird way."

"Complete each...- Yeah... yeah, I guess you're right."


	25. Let Go

**Kate: GUYS! Only like... 2 chapters left~ BOO-YEAH!**

**Chapter 25**

Kiseki sat quietly in his office. Scattered across his desk were numerous photos, all including one mysterious pink-haired girl whose identity was yet to be revealed.

He just couldn't get it. That girl looked so familiar, but without a head-shot, the closest he got to seeing her face was when she was staring down at the ground with her head bent.

All the photos he had taken were either too far away, too blurry, or only of the back of the girl.

Finally, the reporter opened his desk drawer and pulled out a pen and paper, beginning to jot down notes. This girl first appeared at the hospital with Ikuto, when Kukai, Tadase, and Amuto were elsewhere. She also was seen exiting a skating rink with Ikuto – another time when the other band members weren't around. Then, there was the music video promotion. Kiseki had seen Tadase, Ikuto, and Kukai, but Amuto was nowhere in sight. However, this mysterious girl was.

Kiseki frowned while twirling his pen around his fingers and staring at his sheet of paper. "Whenever this girl appears... Amuto is never there..." he mumbled to himself softly. Not to mention, their hair color was the same, and they were around the same height.

Picking up a nearby photo of the girl, the reporter squinted his eyes in hopes of seeing the picture clearer. He was able to see – at a closer look – that this girls' eyes were golden. Just like Amuto's.

Kiseki's eyes widened as he triumphantly stood on his chair while pumping his fist in the air. He always knew there was something funny about that Amuto character. "He's a she!" He exclaimed proudly, a loud cackle following shortly after, "Either that, or a boy who enjoys cross-dressing as a girl." He was more observant than what people gave him credit for.

"Kiseki, shut up!" his fellow coworker yelled from across the hall.

"_You _shut up, peasant!" Kiseki bellowed back before dropping into his seat once again. Instantly, he took his camera out, knowing that the band had gone to Canada, but would be back today. All he had to do was get to the airport and prove to everyone that Amuto was actually a girl.

* * *

Tsukasa hurried through the recording studio, panting heavily and skidding to a stop – literally – once finding who he was searching for. "I-Ikuto!" he called, stopping to catch his breath as Ikuto looked over his shoulder at the blonde man.

"What?" he questioned, deadpanned and looking bored.

Walking over to the young boy, Tsukasa finally caught his breath back. "Aren't you coming to the conference room? Souko wanted to thank you for remaking the song." He said with a confused look.

"I'm not going." Ikuto replied with a shake of the head. He just wanted to go home and sleep. Well, more like hibernate.

Tsukasa shook his head. "That Souko is really starting to annoy me. She started yelling at me just earlier today about that song. Ahh she's so … ugh. No offense to her! I mean, I'm sure she's a lovely pers- "

"Wait, why did she start yelling at you?" Ikuto asked curiously.

A frown made its way onto Tsukasa's face as he tried to remember what it was he had said to her. After finishing off the interview with Tsumugu's manager, he had found out a piece of information that not many people knew. Something concerning the song that Souko claimed belonged to her.

"Well, I told her that I knew that the song wasn't made for her, and that it was originally meant for Tsumugu's wife, Midori." Tsukasa began, "He wrote it for her because she feared something was happening between him and Souko. What was actually going on, was Souko was clinging to Tsumugu and begging him to take her back, which he didn't. In the end, Souko did all she could to buy that song and claim it as her own in order to get rid of Midori."

Just as he finished his speech, Ikuto went silent with a deadly look in his eyes. It was all her fault. Tsumugu wasn't to blame at all. What was worse is that he took it all out on Amu.

He just wanted to yell at himself for being so inconsiderate. He hadn't even questioned Souko before blaming everything on Tsumugu – who was trying to get away from Souko and wanted to live peacefully with his expectant wife.

In an instant, Ikuto took off in a run towards the conference room. All his life, he thought that he had hated his mom as much as he possibly could. But, at this moment, he knew that he could indeed hate her more. He could hate her as much as he did now.

Pushing the door open, Ikuto stood in the doorway of the conference room and stared deadly at his mom, who sat at the table with her hands on the table, a fur jacket on her shoulders, and an innocent smile on her face.

"That song isn't yours." Ikuto stated, making Souko's smile fade. Ikuto didn't want to waste anymore time, he needed to get to the bottom of this. Even if it meant stating things that both of them already knew. He just had to show her that he knew the truth, and that it was time for her to stop lying. "It wasn't written to beg you to come back. You stole it, didn't you? In order to keep that woman out of his life, you snatched it. You were never the one he loved."

The tears building up in his moms' eyes were a good enough response for him. Clearly, it was all true, judging by the look on her face. Everything was a lie. She was a liar who had nothing better to do with her life than wallow on the past. That was something Ikuto wasn't going to do. He wasn't going to let the past incidences ruin his future.

In order to take that step forward, he had to see Amu at the airport. He had to clear everything up with her and apologize. To sum it up: He had to get her back.

Taking off in another mad dash, Ikuto flew out the front doors of the studio, nearly tripping over air as he hurried to his car.

It wasn't Tsumugu who had taken his mom away from Ikuto, it was his mom that willingly left to pursuit the man she was obsessed with. Tsumugu was innocent in this whole scheme.

Ikuto felt disgusted with himself. How he could be so selfish, he didn't know. He didn't think of anyone else's feelings.

He didn't even know why he was hurrying to the airport. It felt as though she was just going to disappear from his life completely if he didn't see her at this very minute.

After parking his car, Ikuto wandered into the large airport, cringing once seeing all the people. It wouldn't be easy to find her. Checking the time, he knew that her plane would've landed already.

He rushed through the people, passing someone asleep on a nearby bench.

The person lay on his back with the hood of his jacket pulled up so it was covering his face. The suitcase sitting beside him had a name tag attached to it, which read: Hinamori Amuto.

The ringing of his cell phone caused him to stir in his sleep, which woke him up entirely. "Son of a..." he groaned, rummaging through his pockets for his phone.

Muffling a yawn, he brought it up to his ear as he sat up and stretched his arms out. "Yeah?"

It was Nikaidou. "Hey, we're here, where are you?" Amuto looked around, confused with the question. Where _was_ he? All he knew for sure was that he was jet-legged galore.

"Uh... I think at the main entrance. I'm on a bench... yeah..." he replied while continuing to look around. What he noticed as he hung up his phone, was that almost everybody who passed by him, were all staring at him. Not the discreet kind of staring, the obvious, wide-eyed, gaping mouth type of staring.

Obviously, his twin sister made sure that everyone knew who he was and did a good job pretending to be him. He'd have to thank her a whole bunch once he saw her.

"That's Amuto from the band, A.N. Jell!" A nearby girl whispered to her friend before bursting into a fit of giggles as they walked by.

The boy was beginning to wish he had wore a jacket with a bigger hood that would hide his face better. He'd have to get used to this though, so he'd have to start early, beginning with right now.

He stood up, off of the bench once seeing his familiar manager walking towards him with open arms and a huge smile. "Amuto! It's good to see you!" he said as he slapped Amuto on the back. Following behind the man were Yukari, and two boys he recognized as Hotori Tadase and Souma Kukai.

Where was the leader of the group? He also began to wonder where his sister was too, for that matter.

Before any introductions could be made, a bellow from someone nearby made the five people go quiet and look in the direction of the noise. Reporter Kiseki was running towards them. Ikuto, who had finally found the band, slowly walked over to them, stopping beside Tadase.

"You! Amuto, you're a girl!" Kiseki yelled proudly, getting right to the point as he skidded to a halt in front of Amuto, who rose an eyebrow at him. "...And who are you?" he asked boredly with a yawn following after.

Without replying, Kiseki pushed the hood off of Amuto, and pulled the jacket off of him, revealing muscular, toned arms that no girl could have. This is why Yukari made sure to dress Amu only in long-sleeved shirts, so that way, when Amuto _did_ come back, his arms wouldn't suddenly go from girlishly thin, to muscular.

Kiseki gaped at his arms. Of course they weren't huge, but he could immediately tell by looking at them, that they didn't belong to a girl. "B-but... you're a ...girl." he stated weakly, no longer feeling confident in his 'discovery'.

Amuto lazily rolled his eyes over to look at the reporter with a blank look on his face. "I don't mean to be rude, but you might have to get your eyes checked. I'm a boy, as far as I know." He stated before rolling up the bottom of his shirt, showing his washboard abs, and a chest that did not belong to a girl. "If you need further evidence, I wouldn't mind pulling down my pants, but I'm sure it would cause a disturbance."

His smooth talking made Kukai and Tadase snigger. However, when Amuto revealed his chest, Ikuto automatically looked away, having yet to get it in his head that it wasn't Amu doing that. The resemblance was uncanny.

Stuttering and stumbling over his words, Kiseki gaped at Amuto with wide eyes. "B-but I was almost certain that you..."

"Well, then there's your problem. You were _almost _certain, not completely. Now, if you don't mind, I'm getting cold, can I have my jacket back?" Amuto asked as he took his jacket back from the shocked reporter.

Nikaidou laughed as he pulled Kiseki out of the airport with him. "Don't feel bad. You might have mistaken him for his twin sister, who was dating Tadase, but they broke up just recently." he comforted as they walked away.

Amuto sighed, watching the two men leave the airport. He then turned to face his band members, introducing himself. "Yo, I'm Amuto."

"Hi! Wow, you look so much like Amu!" Kukai exclaimed while shaking the pink-haired boy's hand quickly. Even though pink was a colour specifically for girls, Amuto somehow made it look... masculine.

Ikuto leaned over to Tadase, quietly asking where Amu was.

"Oh, she stayed back in Canada." The blonde replied before also introducing himself to Amuto.

"Still in ..." Ikuto groaned as he raked a hand through his hair, looking around at the signs for one that said what time the next plane to Canada was.

* * *

The cool breeze rustled the empty tree branches, sending shivers up Amu's spine as she wandered the streets of the small Canadian city. She was thankful that not many people recognized her, despite the occasional Asian-lover who went crazy when they spotted her.

Inhaling the fresh air, she smiled, content. The air smelt so good. A mixture of nature and rain.

Canada wasn't that bad. Everyone was kind, and their humor was something Amu hadn't seen before. They liked to make fun of themselves, which was quite entertaining to watch.

She hurried across the street after walking away from her hotel, looking for something to do. She had already done enough sight-seeing, and wasn't really hungry. It felt weird to not be bombarded by fans everywhere she went. It was refreshing.

Amu glanced at her surroundings as she quickened her pace to make it across yet another street, stopping once she reached the sidewalk. Standing a few feet in front of her, was an all-too familiar blue-haired boy.

He stood there casually with his hands in his pockets, a blank expression on his face as he stared directly at her. His eyes finally weren't showing any trace of anger, which brought relief over Amu.

"Do you... want to take a walk with me?" Ikuto asked softly. Amu bit down on her lower lip as she nodded slowly. She hoped she could explain everything to Ikuto and that he would actually listen to what she had to say.

As they walked, Ikuto shared everything he had found out hours earlier. Including how it wasn't Tsumugu's fault for this whole charade, and that his song was made for his wife, and not Souko. Hearing this made Amu relieved. She didn't think her dad was the type of person to abandon his wife.

"I'm glad that it was made for my mom. It's... such a relief that dad didn't abandon her, after all." Amu confessed with a soft laugh as they slowly walked down the streets. It wasn't too busy out, which was nice since they weren't being pushed around by crowds.

Ikuto slowed down to a stop, making Amu also stop and turn around to look at him, confused. "...I'm sorry." he said quietly, yet sincerely. "This all was my mother's fault. And it didn't even come to mind that you would be hurting more than me."

Pursing her lips together, Amu shrugged slightly. "Well... you're also a victim in this whole thing. I don't want you to feel too sorry." she then exhaled loudly as she forced a smile and stretched her arms up above her. "So, in the end we got to say goodbye face-to-face." she stated. "...Goodbye, Ikuto."

After forcing another smile, Amu started walking back in the direction she came from, but, just as she passed by Ikuto, he grabbed onto her hand and both of them stopped in their place. He couldn't let her get away again.

He opened his mouth to say something, but ended up closing it again once nothing came to mind. Instead, he could only hold onto her hand tighter. But, he would have to consider her feelings in all of this. If she truly wanted to leave, he shouldn't hold her back. She had a life to return to. One that didn't include him.

"E-even if it's a long time from now... when I'm feeling better, I'll somehow let you know that I'm fine." Amu stated softly as she felt her eyes fill up with tears.

Who were they kidding? An ordinary church-girl could never stay together with Japan's hottest idol. They were complete opposites. She had to let him go. Once realizing this, Amu did exactly that. Slowly, she unwrapped her fingers from his, knowing he would be hurting just as much as she was – maybe even more – but, this was the best to do for the both of them.

Putting one foot in front of the other, Amu started walking away, wiping her eyes in the process.

She had to let go.

Ikuto looked over his shoulder at her, watching the best thing that had ever happened to him walk out of his life.


	26. ToGetHer

**Chapter 26**

To say that Kukai was concerned would be an understatement. He couldn't stop pacing in front of Ikuto's bedroom door, the only noise he could hear was the muffled sound of five words being chanted over and over again from the blue-haired boy.

"Without her, I am fine. Without her, I am fine."

It was beginning to sound like he was chanting a curse instead of trying to convince himself that those words were true.

The brunette glanced back at the closed door and frowned. He already had a lot on his mind concerning his feelings for a certain blonde idol who was much too prideful. This occurrence with Ikuto just added to his misery.

It had been a week since Amuto had come back. One week of Ikuto hibernating in his room. He'd only come out to practice for the concert that would be taking place tonight. Other than that, it was as if he was a ghost. Or, phantom, rather.

"I've had it, Ikuto! You're so annoying!" Kukai yelled before stomping off to his room stubbornly. If he had to listen to Ikuto talk to himself any longer, he for sure would be driven crazy. Crazier than he already was.

However, Ikuto didn't seem to hear his yell of anger as he lay on the floor of his room, staring up at the ceiling. His headphones were draped around his neck as he scanned through the songs on his iPod, frowning once a depressing one would start playing. It fit his mood, but he was trying to stop wallowing. Having sad music playing wouldn't exactly help him complete that goal.

He was tired, too. Even though he stayed cooped up in his room all day long for the past seven days, he hadn't slept much. Whenever someone would poke their head in his room to call him down for dinner or something else, he'd always roll away from them and pretend to be asleep.

"Without her... I am fine." Ikuto stated with a shrug of his shoulders. Completely fine. He was surviving before she came into his life, so he'd survive after she had gone. He hoped.

Exhaling slowly, he started repeating those words to convince himself. Was he really going to be fine? She hadn't left his mind ever since talking to her in Canada. "Without her, I am..." His sapphire eyes slowly opened as he truly thought about what he was without her.

"...not fine." he finished off truthfully, then groaned as he rolled onto his side and buried his face into his arm. The first step to forgetting something was to get rid of anything that held memories, correct?

Jumping off the ground, Ikuto glared at the all-too-innocent looking pig-rabbit stuffed animal sitting on his bed. A certain star necklace was draped around its neck.

"Starting with you." he stated while walking over to the stuffed animal and picking it up by the ear as if it was a smelly piece of clothing. What he would do with the necklace, he had no idea.

Perhaps it was the message he had received earlier that morning that had got him into this weird mood. The message was on his fan-page, from a certain person with the user-name: Pig-rabbit. Subject: I'm fine. Those two words were the only things written in the message; I'm fine. That's it. It was pissing Ikuto off just at the thought.

"Stupid girl could've said more than that." he huffed on his way down the stairs with the pig-rabbit in his hand. "She could've, oh, I don't know, maybe have said where she was! Did that ever cross her mind?" he asked angrily as he stomped into the kitchen.

Just as he was about to throw the stuffed animal in the garbage, the chairs sitting at the counter didn't escape his notice. Immediately, he remembered when he had to un-glue Amu's fingers and they were sitting there.

It was also in this room that he had to spray her with water in order to get her eyes to stop stinging.

Sighing, Ikuto dropped onto a nearby chair and raked a hand through his hair. He couldn't forget no matter how hard he tried. He also knew that there was no way he could throw that pig-rabbit stuffed animal away.

"Damn pig-rabbit."

Grudgingly he pulled himself off of the chair and over to the room full of fan gifts. Placing the pig-rabbit on top of a pile of other animals, Ikuto made sure to close the door firmly behind him. "Pig-rabbit is officially extinct..."

"Ah, Ikuto! Where is everyone?" Nikaidou exclaimed while running into the house and nearly falling to the ground in the meantime. He looked eager and excited about something. Old people had too much energy for the likes of Ikuto right now.

"They're in their rooms..." he replied. "Why?"

Nikaidou grinned widely as he ran up the stairs, knocking on everyones' door before hurrying back to where Ikuto was. "Because, you all have to get ready for tonight's concert! We're performing on my favorite stage, so that makes this night all more perfect!" He replied.

Tadase shook his head while chuckling at the man's energy before he took a seat on the couch beside Kukai.

Once hearing a scoff from Ikuto, Amuto laughed to himself. "Maybe Ikuto should stay home to sleep. We could always do well on our own." he commented, getting a glare from the male standing beside him.

"Well, no more dilly-dallying! We should get going, now." Nikaidou proclaimed as he pushed Amuto and Tadase out the door with Kukai and Ikuto following shortly behind. Another concert. Hopefully it would end earlier than two in the morning, for once.

Kukai leaned over to Ikuto, keeping his voice quiet as he spoke. "I heard Nikaidou gave Amu a ticket for tonight's concert. Do you think she'll show up?" he asked as they neared the van.

This caused something to stir inside Ikuto. He pushed it aside, though, not wanting to believe that it was a feeling of hope. "I doubt it. Why would she?"

The brunette pouted before sticking his tongue out at his elder. "Such a depressing person." he commented under his breath before climbing into the van, sitting beside Amuto in the back seat.

Casually, Kukai brought up a topic he was discussing with Amuto earlier, trying not to seem too anxious to get his opinion. "So, as we were saying before, about my friend... you know... who likes Hoshina?" he began slowly.

Amuto looked away from the trees passing quickly out the window and nodded. "Right. Well, what do _you _think about her?" he asked before taking a bite of an apple he had stashed in his bag.

This caused a stuttering frenzy to begin, but finally Kukai managed to sputter out: 'Why does it matter what I think?'.

That was the reaction Amuto was expecting. Clearly this 'friend' was definitely Kukai, who was confused about his feelings towards Utau, and wanted some professional advice. Apparently, in the brunette's eyes, Amuto was a professional.

"If you think there's nothing wrong with her, then it wouldn't be a problem for your friend to like her, now would it?" Amuto pointed out, making a disgusted face and throwing the rest of his apple out the window.

Kukai stared down at his lap while frowning. "Well... she is pretty full of herself and prideful... at times. But, she really isn't that bad. Still, it's weird for a guy to confess his feelings first! Wouldn't it be awkward?"

"It'd only be awkward if she didn't like you back."

His heart sunk. What if Utau really didn't like him back? Well, then again, Kukai didn't even know if he had feelings for her or was just _thinking _he did, since he had spent a lot of time with her this past week. No one could like someone in a week... right?

"Arrgh, I hate this!" Kukai groaned as he buried his face into the car seat in front of him. Amuto just watched in amusement. He couldn't remember the last time he was smitten about a girl. He was thankful for that.

Yawning, he took out a newspaper, glancing at the headline. 'Hoshina Utau and Tsukiyomi Ikuto split. Utau-chan shares what went wrong!' Amuto had to bite back a laugh once reading it. He had heard about how they had to pretend to be dating since Utau black-mailed Ikuto. It'd be entertaining to read what she came up with for a 'heartbreaking story of the split-up'.

"Alright, guys. Go straight to hair and make-up! Yukari's already there waiting for you." Nikaidou announced as the van came to a stop in front of a large building. 15,000 fans were expected to show up for this concert.

Ikuto started to walk with the band members, but stopped once Nikaidou called out his name. "Uh, there's someone here to see you in the lobby, so you can stay behind. But, once you're done, make sure you hurry up to the locker room." he said before leaving with everyone else.

Sighing deeply, Ikuto turned around, walking in the opposite direction, towards the front of the building instead of the back. Someone to see him... Truthfully, he had no idea who it would be. He could just hope it wasn't that annoying Reporter Kiseki. But, Ikuto doubted that, since no one had heard from Kiseki since he had tried to reveal that Amuto was a girl, but ended up being hideously embarrassed.

In fact, it wouldn't be surprising if he had either quit his job or got fired out of humiliation. Poor guy.

Just as Ikuto entered the lobby, he wanted to leave. It was her. Souko. Ikuto figured she had already done all that was possible in order to ruin his life. But, he was curious to see what she had come up with this time. Perhaps she was now going to threaten him to make him lose his fame.

The blonde woman slowly stood up, brave enough to look Ikuto in the eye as she spoke. Ikuto was even surprised that she had the nerve to appear in front of him at a time like this.

"Even if... I apologize and ask you to forgive me, I'm sure you'll just ignore it. But, even so, I have to say it." Souko began slowly. "I'm so sorry, Ikuto. Because I was so obsessed over my own pain of being abandoned, I hurt you. Of course you don't view me as your mother."

As she spoke, it was clear that she meant everything. Finally, her words were honest, and for once, not useless lies. "Why are you suddenly saying this?" Ikuto asked with a poker face.

"I... I'm scared. You're really trying to get rid of me, and I just realized that I'm nothing without you. You're my son, and I've done nothing but ruin your life." Souko replied softly. "She's the one who came to me and helped clear my thoughts. She said it would be best to tell you how I felt – to tell you that I'm sorry, from the bottom of my heart."

This caught Ikuto's attention. "She... as in..."

"Hinamori Amu. I met up with her so I could properly apologize for what I had done to her, as well as you." Souko said with a soft smile as if remembering their meeting. "She's such a nice girl... You do know that she's going to Africa, right?"

No, he didn't know that. In an instant, questions ran through his head. He needed to know how long she'd be there, when she was going, who she would be with, and why she was going in the first place.

"I know I have no right to say this... but, I really hope you don't lose the one you love, just like I did. You'll regret it later." Souko continued.

Ikuto rolled his eyes. "Weren't you the one who split us up? Why are you suddenly a different person?"

"Making someone you love go away is not love. I'm telling you this as a way of showing you my love as a mother." Souko began quietly. She hadn't shown him love at all in his life, and that's something she wanted to change, starting now. "I've never been there for you, but I want to be a part of your life from now on. I understand if you refuse. I've hurt you beyond repair, but I should let you know, that I'm willing to do anything to help your life get back on track, starting with Amu. Ikuto, you can't let her go. I've seen how full of life you look when you're with her... and I am so disgusted with myself for ever ruining that happiness."

Once glancing at the time, he knew it was time to go. He began walking away, but stopped to look over his shoulder at his mom and reply to everything she had just said. It would take some time, but he was sure that after a while, he might trust her enough to let her back into his life.

"I'm not going to forgive you that easily. But, I'm willing to give you a chance at some time in the future. Until then, take care... mom." Saying that word made Ikuto feel weird. The last time he had called her that was years ago. But, he knew that this time round, she truly was going to try to be a better person to him. Of course no one could change that quickly, but after opening her eyes, Ikuto had a good feeling that she would indeed try her best.

As he walked, unknowingly his pace increased while he thought. Why didn't he stop Amu from walking away that day? He knew that she was in pain from being around him, but the way he let her leave was as if he was just pushing her away from him.

Letting her go to Africa would just be making the same mistake.

"Hey, Nikaidou!" Ikuto called, jogging up to the man who was on his way to the washroom.

"Where is she?"


	27. Somebody Like You

**Kate: Hey! So I realized that I was meaning to, but ended up forgetting many times, so I'm going to say it now. For those who don't know, this story is based off the Korean drama 'You're Beautiful'. Go check it out! It's A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own**

Chapter 27

Amuto sat with his legs propped on the coffee table in front of him, arms crossed while holding a small lollipop in between his pearly white teeth. Surprisingly he was calm, even though this was his first official concert. He was just one of those people who didn't worry and went with the flow.

Glancing down at his plaid shirt, he sent a questioning look in Yukari's direction, watching her hand Kukai a pair of black skinny jeans and a neon shirt. "Is this really necessary?" Amuto asked, referring to his shirt that was unbuttoned almost completely, exposing his chest.

Yukari sent him an are-you-stupid look. "Of course it is! All the girls will faint at the sight of you – in a good way, of course." she stated while applying the finishing touches to Tadase's golden hair. The woman suddenly looked frantically around the room with a frown on her face. "Where's Ikuto!" she demanded just as Nikaidou entered the room with a smile on his face.

"Nikaidou! Where on earth is that punk!" Yukari questioned harshly, feeling as if she had to threaten him in order to get words out of him.

Nikaidou chuckled quietly under his breath, leaning against the door. Finally this whole thing could be solved. He just hoped Ikuto would get back in time for the concert, or who knew what the end result would be. "...He went to get his girl." Nikaidou replied with a smile.

Amuto turned his torso to look at the man standing behind him and grinned, continuing to hold the sucker with his teeth. "Really, now? How dashing." he commented. "I wonder how long it will take for him to realize that she's actually in the audience, and not where you told him she'd be."

This shocked everyone in the room, all eyes now on the boy with pink hair. "She's in the audience?" Nikaidou repeated, panicking. "I just sent Ikuto away for nothing?"

The man then groaned while sinking into a seat and burying his face in his hands. "It would've been so romantic if he burst into the orphanage where she was working and pulled her into his arms..." he drifted off once the gears in his imagination started working.

Raising an eyebrow at Nikaidou, Amuto shook his head. "I'm sure he'll be back any minute now. When did you tell him where she was?" he asked. He was beginning to get used to sharing advice with all these people involved with the band.

Nikaidou snapped out of his weird imagination and looked over at the boy. "Uh... well, I found him on my way to the bathroom, but after that I grabbed something to eat... around twenty minutes ago...?" he replied, unsure.

Amuto nodded in response. Then Ikuto would definitely be back soon. The concert did, after all, start in ten minutes.

"You said she's in the audience, right?" Kukai clarified as he emerged from behind the curtain, now changed in his clothes. "You mean she's with thousands of fans, making it impossible to find her?"

Amuto shrugged. "It does appear that way, doesn't it?"

The brunette slowly tip-toed over to Amuto with his eyebrows slanted downwards in suspicion. "Or... are you actually Amu, pretending to be your brother?" he demanded as he stopped just inches away from Amuto's face.

"...I do believe I know who I am. I'm not my sister." The boy replied before gently pushing Kukai away from him, not liking the fact that his personal bubble was now popped, making him feel very uncomfortable.

Huffing out a response, Kukai sat back in front of a mirror and allowed Yukari to finish applying gel to his hair.

The changing room door suddenly being thrown open made Nikaidou nearly scream as he looked at the door. Ikuto.

Amuto just laughed to himself.

"She's here." Ikuto stated while trying to catch his breath. Judging by the unimpressed looks on everyones' faces, he guessed they already knew that important detail. "Nikaidou, change the first act. I'll go on first." He decided before grabbing his change of clothes and hurrying behind the curtain hanging in the middle of the room so he could get dressed.

It seemed that his clothes were always black skinny jeans, converse shoes, and a dark shirt. He was thankful that this time, at least his shirt was black and white plaid instead of something plain. It was time to change things up a little.

"A-are you sure you want to do this?" Nikaidou clarified while following him down the hall towards the stage.

"Yes." Ikuto replied instantly. After taking one more look at Nikaidou, he opened the backstage door and walked in, stepping over the millions of cords and wires that were scattered across the floor on his way to the stage.

As soon as they spotted him, the fans went wild. Cheering and screaming at the top of their lungs.

The multi-colored spotlights danced around the stage as Ikuto walked up to the microphone, flinching as one of the lights flashed into his eye. It always took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust to the bright flashing of the strobe lights.

While he waited for Amuto, Kukai, and Tadase to get set up at their instruments behind him, Ikuto quickly scanned the large crowd in front of him, trying to spot a certain girl with pink hair. It was so dark out there compared to where he was standing, making it harder to see.

The music then started playing, making Ikuto stop searching for a moment in order to remember the words to his song. Well, not his song, the song Tsumugu wrote. He had become quite attached to the lyrics, and decided it would be best to sing it in the concert.

**'Empty' by The Click Five (Which I don't own) Go check it out!**

"Tried to take a picture  
Of love  
Didn't think I'd miss her  
That much  
I want to fill this new frame  
but its empty."

The lyrics made perfect sense. It described what Tsumugu was going through back when Souko was trying to pull him away from his wife. Tsumugu used to be a photographer, one that would try capture the world's most treasured feelings. After losing his wife, he realized just how much he wanted to take a picture of love in hopes of remembering her. To remember what true love felt like.

"Maybe we're trying  
Trying too hard  
Maybe we're torn apart  
Maybe the timing  
Is beating our hearts  
We're empty."

Ikuto's eyes continued to search through the crowd as he sang, desperately wanting to find her. He definitely didn't want to lose her. What he had learned from his own and other peoples' mistakes, was that he would regret letting go of someone he didn't want to leave.

"Maybe we're trying  
Trying too hard  
Maybe we're torn apart  
Maybe the timing  
Is beating our hearts  
We're empty.

Maybe we're trying  
Trying too hard  
Maybe we're torn apart  
Maybe the timing  
Is beating our hearts...

We're empty."

Once the music stopped playing, Ikuto waited for the deafening cheers to die down before he spoke into the microphone, hearing his voice echo throughout the auditorium.

"You're listening, aren't you?" he asked, continuing to look for her. "I'm asking you to be where I can see you. … Not seeing you is like not having oxygen. Please... come to where I can see you."

That little speech just made the crazy fan-girls start screaming again. They jumped up and down excitedly with bright smiles on their faces, trying to get Ikuto's attention.

Amuto stepped away from the piano and waltzed backstage towards the lighting booth. After taking a random guess, he flicked on a switch, hoping it would be for the lights hanging above the audience. That way it would be easier to find his sister.

After emerging back on stage, Amuto smiled in satisfaction. He was one lucky guesser.

So many people. Ikuto was beginning to think it was impossible to find her. Just when he was about to give up, he saw pink. It was then as if his nerves finally rested, allowing him to breath again. She was there. … The only downside, was that she was walking away.

Amu tried to make her way in the opposite direction of the stage, moving further into the crowd, but found it almost impossible. All the girls were so persistent to be noticed by the four hotties on the stage. Sighing, she turned back around and stopped walking. Once looking back at the stage, she made eye-contact with Ikuto.

Just that made her legs feel like jell-o, her heart skip a beat and her face flush. His eyes were always so captivating.

It was like a dream. She couldn't believe it when she saw him walking off the stage and jump onto the floor into the mob of screaming girls. They didn't hold him back, though, which was surprising. He walked through the sea of people, stopping in front of Amu.

Instantly he pulled her into a kiss, neither of them caring about all the noise surrounding them, nor the amount of eyes that were watching them.

Ikuto parted from her first and hugged her tightly as a way of showing her that he wasn't going to let her escape from his life that easily. Even if she was going to Africa, she wasn't allowed to forget about him.

"I'll tell you every-day, so listen carefully..." Ikuto began. The girls surrounding them quieted down in order to hear properly. "...I love you."

More screams. Some of joy and others of sadness. The sad girls obviously wanted Ikuto to themselves. But a true fan would rejoice over their idol's happiness.

For the couple in the middle of all this havoc, this moment was full of sheer bliss. After hardships, misunderstandings, and everything else, they still found each other again.

* * *

"What about that one? Do you see it?" Amu asked excitedly as she pointed to a star while jumping up and down. "I can't wait to see what stars there are in Africa!"

Ikuto rolled his eyes, folding his arms across his chest as he too looked up at the sky. "The stars there will be the same as the ones here, idiot. ...Do you have to go?" he asked. Why Africa of all places? Why not America or some other place that wasn't so random? Then again, even if it was America, Ikuto would just hate that country instead of hating Africa. Either way, it meant taking Amu away from him.

The pinkette giggled under her breath at the boy. "Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I can! Please wait for me."

"You sure have become arrogant. Maybe I don't want to wait, and I'll date some random person." Ikuto replied with a smirk at Amu's reaction consisting of an angry face and a muttered insult.

"Oh, look!" he then pretended to grab a star from the sky, then opened his hand for Amu to see a star-necklace. Originally he was going to keep it on the pig-rabbit and leave it in that room to help him forget, but he couldn't let it go. Instead he shoved it in his pocket. Good thing he did, or he wouldn't have been able to give it to Amu before she left.

Trying to hold back a blush, Amu smiled bashfully as she received the gift. "Look at that, you're even taking stars from the sky just for me." she teased. "You've really changed... So, does this mean you love me so much you're willing to take stars out of the sky just to give to me?"

He glared at her again. No doubt it was out of embarrassment. "You really _are _arrogant." he muttered. "If you don't want it, give it back."

"N-no, I want it!"

"Then stop saying such foolish things. Oh, what's that?" Ikuto asked, pointing at something to the side, in the distance.

Amu turned to look at whatever he was pointing at, then found herself being pulled to Ikuto's chest. He rested his chin on her shoulder and hugged her from behind.

"I won't ever let go of the star I caught with so much difficulty." Amu reassured while blushing madly, knowing that Ikuto knew that certain star was him. She could tell Ikuto was smirking as he continued to hug her.

"Yeah, you better not. It'll only shine in front of you, Pig-Rabbit."

**THE END**


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